The Parliament’s viewpoint will be consulted on the purchase of two VIP security vehicles for Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe, Law and Order and Southern Development Minister and Prime Minister’s Chief of Staff Sagala Ratnayaka said.
The Prime Minister’s Office issuing a press communique yesterday, said the views of Parliament would be heeded in deciding the future steps with regard to this purchase as the Chief Opposition Whip had registered his objection over this move.
Minister Ratnayaka in the release further stated the price of the two vehicles was Rs. 128 million, adding that the rest of Rs. 468 million was tax payment.
“Rs. 128 million is the actual cost for the government from this purchase. The rest is a transaction of money from one state account to another. The proposal was made following the recommendation of the Security Council as there was no official vehicle for the use of the Prime Minister,” it stated.
“Prime Minister Wickremesinghe is presently using two VIP security vehicles and a jeep released by the Presidential Secretariat. The jeep was made in 2006 while the two motor vehicles were made in 2012 and 2008. The conditions of these vehicles are poor and need repairs more frequently. Since January 9, 2015, Rs. 9.8 million had been spent for the repairs and maintenance work. Due to this reason, the Prime Minister is frequently using his private vehicle and does not claim any money from the Prime Minister’s Office for the use of that vehicle,” the minister said.
The release added former President Mahinda Rajapaksa had taken with him the brand new VIP vehicles which were in the vehicle fleet of the Presidential Secretariat following his defeat on January 8.
“Therefore President Maithripala Sirisena, Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe and former President Chandrika Kumaratunga had to content with the leftover vehicles in the fleet. The purchase of new vehicles by the Prime Minister’s Office is reasonable since the Prime Minister was not given any official vehicle from the Prime Minister’s Office and since the vehicles received by him from the Presidential Secretariat need frequent repairs,” the release added.
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