No car of our own

The UK’s Department for Transport recently revealed information about how the government car service has tried to cut costs. Since 2012, the number of governmental cars in the UK has reduced from 136 to 85. These vehicles are placed in the departmental car pools and not allocated to the ministers. Only the prime minister has a dedicated car. All other ministers and officials must make a requisition and give a reason for each official journey whose time and mileage is recorded and accessible to public. In Pakistan, the rulers have wastefully amassed an unbelievable number of government vehicles – over 22,000 in only Sindh.

Many of these cars are neither registered nor have taxes paid against them. Almost the entire fleet of governmental cars is used by friends and family of ministers for personal use. Can both federal and provincial governments retrieve all government vehicles and place them in departmental car pools? At least 60 percent of all governmental cars could be easily sold at auction. The cash generated from the sale can be returned to the state exchequer. Officials must make their own arrangements for travel from home to office and back.

Naeem Sadiq

Karachi