Only one vehicle for security of Ministers

Only one vehicle for security of Ministers

Will law operate in this same way?

About a week before the new group of Ministers were to be sworn-in, Prime Minister Ranil
Wickramasingha issued an announcement which said that permission would not be granted for Ministers unlike during former times of Mahinda Rajapaksa where they were given too much protection when they were travelling on the roads.

The said announcement stated that only one vehicle could escort the vehicle in which a Cabinet Minister was to travel and that a bullet-proof vehicle in future could be utilised by only the Prime Minister and the President and that only the Opposition Leader could be provided that facility after considering the salient facts. It also said that in future closing roads when Ministers of the government were travelling on important roads and stopping common transport means in a manner which brought inconvenience to the public would not take place. The Prime Minister further stated that if any Minister was to violate such orders to inform immediately and a report would be called for from three aspects and that action would be taken against the relevant Minister.

Whatever it is, during the few days the new Ministers had taken their oaths, several complaints of such incidents have been received. Known reliable information sources report that it is a common factor to observe even now of Ministers moving around on the roads with only one security vehicle. It has also been reported that drivers are still seen driving vehicles according to the old habit. Whatever it is, it is no longer a secret that because of Ministers during the former regime who went in processions of vehicles for security purposes the public of the City of Colombo had to face terrible inconvenience. All members of the family not making use of bullet-proof vehicles during this epoch has contributed to putting a stop to utter wastage.

During the period of Mahinda Rajapaksa, President Mahinda, Namal, Basil, Gotabhaya and Shiranthi had used bullet-proof vehicles on every occasion and in instances where Rohitha and Yoshitha had requested for such bullet-proof vehicles those were brought down and made use of. The number of such requests had been 721 in number, Minister John Amaratunga had revealed of late. Whatever it is, even at present, the former President is using a bullet-proof vehicle because of the threats prevailing around him.