The recently surfaced claim stating that around 1,800 vehicles listed in the Health Ministry fleet are actually not under the Ministry’s control, sparked controversy earlier this week, imploring for questions on the magnitude of waste or the misuse of public funds that is occurring despite successive Governments’ vows to curtail the same. This matter became a topic of discussion following the Committee on Public Accounts (COPA) Chairman, State Minister Lasantha Alagiyawanna’s claim that the Auditor General's report shows that 1,794 vehicles of the Ministry had gone missing.

Initially, it received attention as just another story of public officials taking vehicles home or selling them. However, as more information about this claim unfolded, it has now become evident that many of these vehicles were in fact not stolen, but were given away officially. According to Ministry Secretary Janaka Sri Chandraguptha, who responded to the said claims, explained that the Ministry’s relevant field officers are allowed to take the vehicles given to them home upon retirement, if they have completed a minimum of five years of service in the Ministry. As The Daily Morning reported, there are 679 cars and 1,115 motorcycles among these vehicles, and upon learning that most of these cars are not in the Ministry’s possession, a request has been made to the Department of Motor Traffic to stop issuing revenue licences to them. The motorcycles are given to field officers under contract and they are allowed to take them after retirement, it was further reported.

Even if the said vehicles have not been stolen or sold, the true story behind these “missing” vehicles is equally controversial. This is not a case of giving a State owned vehicle to an officer in recognition of their long and committed service, which would be acceptable in exceptional cases. A vehicle, purchased and maintained by the Government utilising public funds for the public service, is State property, and it is not something that could be given for personal use. What is more concerning is how an official becomes eligible to get a free vehicle. According to the Ministry Secretary, all they have to do is complete a minimum of five years in their position as a field officer, and they go home with State property. This is an extremely questionable situation, especially for a country that is experiencing a severe economic crisis and should be utilising every Rupee sparingly. While the Government is advocating unbearable austerity measures to earn and save public funds, in the Ministry, some field officers go home with a free vehicle for merely doing their job, which provides a basic salary and a number of other perks.

These field officers are not to blame, as they are not owning State property unlawfully but as per the existing regulations in the Ministry. Therefore, this is an issue of institutional policies and regulations, for which the Ministry and successive Governments are answerable. Not only is this a policy issue, this is also an institutional level financial issue, as new vehicles have to be purchased to replace the vehicles that are being given to retiring field officers, which is an expensive exercise, especially at a time where vehicle imports have been halted and the Rupee has significantly depreciated. The fact that such questionable policies have remained in the public service, especially in the Health Ministry that was affected by the economic crisis, is concerning.

There are tensions in the general society about this matter. The Ministry or the Government should explain to the tax paying citizens as to who established these questionable policies, that has allowed private ownership of State property, and for what purpose. In addition, whether an evaluation of a field officer’s service and the vehicle’s condition takes place remains unknown. A proper explanation will provide the people an opportunity to learn what happens to their tax money, and on the other hand, if there is a reasonable motive behind this policy, the Ministry and the Government would be able to explain it and alleviate the people’s tensions. The people also have a right to know what other public institutions have these types of policies and how long such policies have existed.

Most importantly, instead of preaching about the importance of saving money in this era of reforms, the Government should set an example by doing away with these types of policies that permit the waste of public funds.