Private use of government vehicles

Dear Editor,

Re: Isn’t it time for P.M. Tuilaepa’s Government to investigate developments at Ministry of Justice?

Your editorial raises the often-debated issue of the misuse of government vehicles by C.E.O’s and A.C.E.O’s. Many letters from members of the public have been sent to your paper regarding this practice which, in some instances, appear intentional and in your face. 

The Ministry of Finance and others have spent money and time in drafting and putting in place rules and regulations to stem this flow of abuse and possibly fraudulent behaviour. 

The community is getting mightily sick of this ‘entitled’ behaviour.

Rather than spend money and time on compliance and detection methods, my friend at the makeki has a solution, which she thinks might work here. The government in partnership with one or more of the local car dealers can offer leased cars to the C.E.O’s and the A.C.E.O’s. 

Payment for the lease of the vehicles will come out of the salary packages of the C.E.O’s and A.C.E.O’s. For all intent and purposes therefore, the vehicles would now be private properties of the two groups who take on the responsibilities of lease payments and maintaining the cars. 

When C.E.O’s and A.C.E.O’s leave their posts either through redundancy or resignation, they can take their cars with them after paying the residual value to the lease companies. 

Or, if they don’t want to pay the cars’ residual value the cars will be taken back by the lease companies and re-leased to other C.E.O’s and A.C.E.O’s as second hand vehicles with lower lease payments. These arrangements mean one less headache for the government.

Under the proposed arrangement, wives and children of the C.E.O’s and A.C.E.O’s can drive the cars at any time because the leased cars belong to the spouses or parents. 

Any time therefore you see a leased car parked infront of a club after hours, you are not going to complain about the misuse of public funds. 

The cars can go to the plantation any time or pick up school kids after school with no complaints from ordinary folks on the street.

If this proposal came to pass, we at the makeki would have to think about another topic of conversation.

 

Vai Autu

Samoa Observer

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