Who owns this vehicle?

Amidst charges and counter charges regarding the ownership and sale of vehicle permits granted to MPs, the president of the Patriotic National Movement (PNM) Gunadasa Amarasekara charged his organisation had paid nearly Rs. 2 million to JVP MP Lakshman Nipunaarachchi from the PNM funds. He claimed the PNM had legal documents relating to the purchase of the permit and the vehicle as well.

He added the PNM had used the vehicle for over two years without any problem and said he believed the influence of the JVP hierarchy over Nipunaarachchi resulted in his taking back the vehicle.

“Nipunaarachchi gave us the vehicle to support our activities” he claimed. “We paid him for the permit. It is not our duty to check whether the act is legal or not, that is his duty” he claimed. Mr. Amarasekara said he expected MP Nipunaarachchi would reimburse the amount they paid for the vehicle. “But we will not be forcing him to”, he said.

Meanwhile JVP MP Lakshman Nipunaarachchi said that the permit and the vehicle were still registered under his name and belonged to him. He counter charged that he had merely given the vehicle to be used by them for their work but expected it to be returned whenever he needed it. He stressed he did not receive any money for it and it was one of the very first vehicles imported by his party in 2006.

“On the night of April 16 I called the PNM asking for the vehicle, when the vehicle was not returned the following morning, I tried to contact them once again, but no one answered the phone. My suspicions were aroused that they may have been using the vehicle for nefarious purposes as the vehicle was not parked at the PNM premises” Nipunaarachchi explained.

The MP said he then made a complaint with the Piliyandala police requesting their help to regain his vehicle. He accused Wimal Weerawansa, Senarathna Amarasinghe and others close to them of manipulating the issue and attempting to create dissension within the party.

He accused Senarathna Amarasinghe of inciting the PNM not to return his vehicle and into making false claims regarding payment for the same.“I did not sell it so, I didn’t get any money for it either”, Nipunaarachchi said.

Meanwhile the Sunday Times learns the Ministry of Parliamentary Affairs has paid over Rs. 2 billion to the Customs as duty waiver for providing duty free vehicles for MPs in 2006 and 2007. The duty waiver for these vehicles differs according to the CC capacity of the vehicle, its value and the fuel that would be used.

An officer of the Prevention Unit of the Customs told the Sunday Times that the MPs are not permitted to sell the duty free vehicles given for their use. The duty waiver for these vehicles differs according to the CC capacity of the vehicle, its value and the fuel that would be used he said. The officer added that unfortunately there was no provision to monitor or take action against errant MPs indulging in the illegal transfer of such vehicles, especially when the ownership of a vehicle was transferred outside of the legally transferable time frame.

The officer said the department could seize these vehicles if they had proof of such dealings, but added the Minister for Finance had the power to release the vehicle if he felt the seizure had been unfair.