News
Double cabs on use-and-return basis for all MPs
View(s):- Announcement comes three days after tender closed for 1,775 pickup trucks —
short notice breaches procurement guidelines
By Namini Wijedasa
Three days after closing the tender for an expedited multibillion-rupee double cab tender, President Anura Kumara Dissanayake announced in his budget speech that every Member of Parliament will receive a pickup truck each.
The Finance Ministry’s tender to buy 1,775 diesel-powered double cabs closed on November 4, seven working days after it was first advertised. On Friday, President Dissanayake said every MP would be given a fully-insured double cab, to be returned to the government at the end of his or her term.
The government’s current fleet of vehicles and machinery was inadequate, and “a significant portion of the existing vehicles and machinery are obsolete, resulting in substantial expenditures on repairs and maintenance,” the President said.
“This situation has become a significant obstacle to the continuation of the development activities that the government is expected to achieve,” he continued. Therefore, the government has decided to purchase a “number of vehicles and machinery” essential for government institutions, as well as vehicles that must be returned at the end of an MP’s term in Parliament. The total allocation is Rs. 12.5bn.
President Dissanayake said it had cost Rs. 7bn to repair ageing vehicles in 2020 and that the repair cost had shot up to Rs. 25bn in 2025. There are vehicles older than 20 years, and diesel consumption was high. It was necessary to have a fleet of new vehicles for the state sector.
The President said that according to the tender opening for these pickup trucks, “a good cab has emerged on top”.
The Sunday Times reported how the Ministry of Finance, Planning, and Economic Development floated a tender on October 23 to purchase 1,775 diesel-powered double cabs for the state sector, allowing interested parties just 12 days—or 7 working days—to submit bids. The method adopted is the national competitive bidding (NCB) procedure.
The short minimum bidding period violates the National Procurement Commission’s (NPC) Procurement Guidelines and Manual, which came into effect this year. It mandates that the minimum bidding period for NCB or limited national bidding (LNB) for tenders valued more than or equal to Rs 50mn is 21 calendar days.
For international competitive bidding or limited international bidding, the minimum bidding period is 42 calendar days. It is 7 calendar days only for national shopping tenders (the purchase of readily available, off-the-shelf goods or standard services that are generally low in value or volume) or requests for quotations.
In the case of emergency procurements, the bidding period “shall be reasonable and practical, depending on the situation”. The double cab tender does not fit into these categories.
The Public Financial Management Act, passed in 2024, holds that every public entity is required to procure goods, services, works, consultancy services, and information systems in compliance with the procurement procedures specified in written laws and guidelines issued from time to time by the NPC.
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