FOLLOWING INSTRUCTIONS from Cabinet, the Ministry of Finance and Planning has begun implementing a strict new motor vehicle policy designed to provide greater control of the use of Government-owned vehicles.This forms part of the Government's intensified effort to enhance efficiency, cut costs and improve transparency in the public sector.
The Finance Ministry said in a statement yesterday that under the new policy, the Government has ceased the assignment of motor vehicles to a wide range of public sector officers who previously enjoyed this benefit. The assignment of vehicles will now be confined to a greatly reduced list of public officers such as permanent secretaries and heads of specified departments.
NO LONGER QUALIFY
Public officers who no longer qualify for Government-owned vehicles will be given the option to purchase the vehicles they had been assigned under loan arrangements negotiated with the Accountant General's Department. This move will result in a reduction in the current fleet of Government vehicles by over 80 per cent.
Under the new policy, Cabinet will have responsibility for determining persons from
the political directorate of Government who qualify for assigned vehicles while the Ministry of Finance and Planning will be responsible
for determining allocations
for public officers. In parastatals (statutory bodies), the boards will have final responsibility for determining who qualifies to be assigned Government vehicles as well as for ensuring that the new policy is adhered to.
The implementation of the first phase of the new Government motor vehicle policy, which was approved by Cabinet in February, became effective yesterday, when all Ministries and agencies were required to submit to the Finance Ministry, an inventory of all motor vehicles and the names of officers to whom they are assigned.
The new policy is applicable to Central and Local Government as well as executive agencies, state departments, boards, commissions, councils, corporations or commercial entities financed or wholly owned by the Government or in which the Government has majority shareholding.
