Former Minister of Finance, MP Ravi Karunanayake, claims the government is preparing to purchase 1,775 new double-cab vehicles, bypassing the standard international tender process.
Addressing a media briefing in Colombo, MP Ravi Karunanayake alleged that a previous proposal from the government to bring in 2,000 double cabs for Members of Parliament, which was shelved, has now resurfaced.
“There was a proposal from the government to bring in 2,000 double cabs for Members of Parliament. At that time, I said MPs don’t need vehicles. But if you want to give these vehicles to someone else and claim they’re for MPs, don’t do it. After that, the proposal was shelved. But now, it has resurfaced,” he said.
MP Ravi Karunanayake revealed that the government was planning to procure 1,775 double cabs through a tender process within just 12 days.
“The original plan for 2,000 vehicles has been reduced by 225, likely excluding MPs. The cost to the Sri Lankan government for these vehicles is Rs. 42.8 billion. What’s concerning is that such a large expenditure is being pushed through with only 12 days allocated for the international tender. According to proper procedures, it should be 42 days. To apply for this tender, a company must have a minimum annual turnover of Rs. 10 billion and must operate vehicle services island-wide. The engine capacity must be 2,500 cc. With these conditions, only one company qualifies to bid,” he explained.
The former Finance Minister went on to note that another issue is that the government has the option to purchase these vehicles from local manufacturers.
“If done locally, each vehicle would cost around Rs. 16.5 million. But they’re planning to buy them at Rs. 24.5 million each. That’s a difference of Rs. 8 million per vehicle, a one-third markup. No matter who supplies these vehicles, what the government is doing is wrong. Why are we still importing fuel-powered vehicles? If a vehicle runs only 6–7 km per litre, it would cost Rs. 8 million in fuel annually. That’s a drain on our foreign exchange. If we switch to electric vehicles, the cost per kilometre would be just Rs. 4–5. That would save Rs. 8 million annually. Over five years, that’s a saving of Rs. 40 million. That’s not a small amount. We could build another Mahaweli project with that,” he said.
MP Ravi Karunanayake further said that currently, the Sri Lankan government owns 87,000 vehicles, and in contrast, the government of Australia, a developed country, owns only about 7,800 vehicles.
“If vehicles must be imported, I say don’t bring in diesel vehicles, bring in electric ones. As I said, switching from fuel-powered to electric vehicles could save Rs. 8 million in fuel and another Rs. 8 million in vehicle costs annually. Some may argue that there aren’t enough charging stations. But with the money saved, we could build charging centres across the country. That would be an investment for the entire nation,” he pointed out. (Newswire)