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Microfinance and Small Loans Centre (MASLOC) would in January 2012, under its Vehicle Hire Purchase Scheme, distribute 500 Hyundai i10 saloon cars to productive unemployed professional drivers who want to own their taxis. The scheme is targeted at empowering individual drivers, especially the youth, who belong to Taxi and Drivers� Unions to own their vehicles after paying the loan facility within a four-year period. Government, in November voted GH�35 million for MASLOC in the 2012 budget to enable the Centre to continue to support the value chain processes through the provision of loans. Dr Kwabena Duffuor, Minister of Finance and Economic Planning announced this when he presented the government�s 2012 Budget and Economic Policy to Parliament in Accra. But General Secretary of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), Lawyer Kwadwo Owusu Afriyie, says it a simply a ploy by the ruling National Democratic Congress (NDC) to use MASLOC to win votes in 2012. Sir John, as the NPP General Secretary is affectionately called vows that it will be an exercise in futility. Speaking in an interview with Citi News, Sir John said Ghanaians have already decided who to vote for in the 2012 elections and 500 or more cars would not be enough to change their minds and bring votes to the NDC. According to Sir John, �If the intent of the NDC is to ensure that by buying these 600 vehicles they are likely to get the votes, they would lose the elections...It would not and it may not necessarily translate into votes for them come 2012. The people are already decided, they are angry at the NDC and come 2012, the NDC would lose the elections," he said. But Mustapha Abubakar, a spokesperson for MASLOC, says the initiative is purely a poverty reduction venture. �This is purely poverty reduction and this is not the first time we are doing this. In 2008 we did it, 2009 we did it, 2010 we did it in the first quarter and we are continuing to do it,� Abubakar stated.