Govt. stops leasing of vehicles from private companies

Ministers at their weekly session on Tuesday decided to immediately call off the practice of leasing vehicles from private companies for use by ministries.

It came after the acting Science, Technology and Re s e a r c h M i n i s t e r Lakshman Seneviratne raised issue over the matter. He said that a decision to lease these vehicles had been made a year ago by the Ministry of Finance. He took part in the ministerial meeting in the absence of Minister Susil Premajayantha who is abroad.

He said that the Ministry had wanted such leases to be obtained from only two hand-picked companies. He said they had not been selected through a competitive process and has made vast amounts of money.

Though it was claimed then that the leasing of such vehicles obviated repair and maintenance costs, Mr. Seneviratne pointed out that new vehicles always came with a warranty period. Even servicing those vehicles was free of charge for a limited period. Mr. Senevirate said it was a waste of money to lease them.

President Sirisena, who concurred with the views expressed, directed the Finance and Media Minister Mangala Samaraweera to put a stop to the practice immediately.