TDS Desk:

Despite ongoing austerity on vehicle purchases this fiscal year, the interim government plans to buy 280 new vehicles for election-duty officials and incoming ministers of the next elected government.

The public administration ministry wrote to the finance ministry on Tuesday, stating that the total expenditure for these vehicles would be Tk445 crore.

Of this, over Tk100 crore will be spent on 60 SUVs for ministers, state ministers, and deputy ministers of the next government, to be elected in the election scheduled for next February. These SUVs will be Mitsubishi Pajero QX-2427cc models, priced at Tk1.69 crore each.

In addition, 195 new SUVs for incumbent Upazila Nirbahi Officers (UNOs) and 25 microbuses for officers of Deputy Commissioners and Divisional Commissioners will be purchased. The SUVs for UNOs will also be Mitsubishi, though the model may differ from those for ministers.

In the letter, the public admin ministry said these officials will play a key role during the elections in maintaining law and order, running mobile courts, and carrying out other essential field-level election duties.

Regarding the vehicle purchase, the public admin ministry wrote in the letter, “The government transport pool currently does not have adequate vehicles for use by ministers, state ministers, deputy ministers, or officials of equivalent rank in the next elected government.”

“The vehicles currently used by advisers [of the interim government] were purchased in the 2015-16 fiscal year, and their lifespan has already exceeded nine years. These vehicles frequently require repairs, which are costly and time-consuming,” the letter mentioned.

Using the existing vehicles, it will be difficult for future ministers, state ministers, and deputy ministers to travel to their constituencies, inspect development projects, and carry out other urgent tasks, it stated.

The vehicle procurement decision was taken in a 6 August inter-ministerial meeting chaired by public administration ministry’s Senior Secretary, Md Mokhlesur Rahman. Officials from the Chief Adviser’s Office, finance ministry, and other relevant ministries attended.

A public admin ministry official, speaking anonymously, told journalists that with next February’s national election and the formation of the new government, approvals from relevant committees will take time, so preparations have already started.

He said the Department of Government Transport, under the public admin ministry, will buy the vehicles directly from Pragati Industries Limited through direct procurement.

A finance ministry circular issued on 8 July banned all vehicle purchases under development and operational budgets this fiscal year to enforce austerity in government spending.

Earlier in May, the public administration ministry had proposed purchasing 25 vehicles for the interim government’s advisers and minister-level officials and submitted it for approval to the Economic Affairs Advisory Committee. However, the committee, chaired by Finance Adviser Salehuddin Ahmed, rejected the proposal and returned it.

The public administration ministry is responsible for providing vehicles for officials, including ministers and state ministers. The Department of Government Transport under the ministry handles procurement and maintenance of these vehicles.

A Government Transport Department official told journalists that there are no fixed rules or legal provisions regarding how long these vehicles can be used. A government circular issued in the 1980s mentions that official vehicles should be replaced every 10 years.

He noted that no new vehicles have been purchased for ministers or state ministers since 2016, making the existing fleet about nine years old. Advisers and others with similar rank are currently using those vehicles as well.

Ahead of the last national election under the Awami League government, the public administration ministry proposed purchasing 20 Mercedes-Benz cars for the prime minister, president, other VVIPs, and foreign delegates. Each car was priced at around Tk3.5 crore. The ministry also planned to procure 50 Toyota Camry hybrid sedans for cabinet members, each costing about Tk1.05 crore.

The ministry had requested funds from the finance ministry for these purchases, but the proposals were rejected due to foreign exchange reserve constraints and the government’s austerity policy.

In May 2018, the then Awami League government bought 30 Mercedes-Benz and BMW vehicles for transporting guests attending the 45th session of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) Council of Foreign Ministers in Dhaka.

After the event, several BMW cars were allocated to senior cabinet members, five vehicles were assigned to the foreign ministry, and the rest were transferred to the government transport pool for state protocol and official use.