Luxury cars for Bangladesh ministers, top bureaucrats

By Mizan Rahman

Dhaka

Bangladesh is set to buy 125 luxury sport utility vehicles (SUVs), sedans and pickup vans at a cost of 571.3mn taka ($7.35mn) for use by various ministers and senior bureaucrats.

Of the 125 vehicles, 30 sedans, worth 4.10mn taka each are to be purchased for the ministers, state ministers and advisers to the prime minister, while 25 microbuses would be procured for the use of their staff at a cost of 4.10mn taka each.

As many as 64 new double cabin pickup vans, worth 5mn taka, each would be procured for deputy commissioners (heads of 64 district administrations) and six luxury sedans costing 4.30mn taka each would be bought to ferry foreign dignitaries.

The government’s move has raised questions over the necessity of purchasing 1,600 CC sedans for ministers and state ministers. At present, ministers, state ministers and the advisers to the PM use SUVs though they are entitled to use 1,600 CC sedans.

It is learnt that the authorities concerned are going to purchase the 30 sedans for use by the ministers’ private staffs and family members.

Commissioner of government transport pool Riaz Ahmed told newsmen that the finance ministry has approved the purchase of 64 pickup vans, 25 microbuses and six luxury sedans, and the vehicles would be procured soon.

“We had also sent a proposal to the ministry concerned to purchase 30 sedans for the ministers recently. But, we are yet to get approval from the ministry,” he said.

“We procured new sedans (Toyota DLI) of 1,600 CC for ministers and the advisers to the PM in 2009, 2010 and 2012-13. But, we are yet to purchase new cars for them in this fiscal year,” he informed.

Sources in the public administration ministry said, it has become a trend to buy new cars for ministers and officials every year in the name of shortage of cars.

The transport pool had provided new SUVs to all the DCs last year for smooth transportation.

A senior official in the public administration ministry said that there is a pickup van in most of the DC offices under the district vehicles pools.

“We don’t understand why the central pool is providing the pickups,” he said. “There is no special need for providing another new pickup for the field officials because their use is limited to special occasions or emergencies like natural calamities,” he added.

Former cabinet secretary Ali Imam Majumder said most of the ministers and PM’s advisers were not using the privileged cars (1,600 CC sedans).

“They always prefer to use SUVs, which are arranged from the departments of their respective ministries. The vehicles are reportedly misused,” he added.