Sri Lanka auctions presidential fleet to cut cost

Tired of watching taxpayer money vanish into the fuel tanks of luxury cars collecting dust in government garages? Sri Lanka is finally taking action.

In a dramatic cost-cutting move, the Presidential Secretariat has fired up a high-stakes auction, putting 21 high-end vehicles on the chopping block. And that’s just the beginning—the entire fleet of extravagant government rides is next.

This is not some routine asset disposal. It’s a full-throttle government-wide purge. Ministries, state corporations, universities, banks—no institution is safe from the axe. The once-prized fleet, now deemed a “substantial non-financial burden”, has been bleeding state funds dry, according to the Sunday Times.

At the forefront of this mission? The Presidential Secretariat, leading by example.

Mahesh Hewavitharana, Additional Secretary to the President (Transport), is steering the effort alongside a Valuation Board for Disposal—a powerhouse team of officials tasked with deciding which vehicles stay and which get the boot.

"These cars are going, and they’re going fast," Hewavitharana declared.

The decision to axe the fleet dates back to a Cabinet ruling on December 12, 2024, followed by a Ministry of Finance circular ordering all state institutions to offload their luxury vehicles by March 1—no exceptions.

Not every vehicle will find a new home. Some will be auctioned, others stripped for parts, and the rest—junked.

A meticulous valuation process is underway, spearheaded by experts from the Government Valuation Department and the Department of Motor Traffic. Every car’s mechanical health, repair history, and market value is under scrutiny.

Government Chief Valuer ASWK Nanayakkara confirmed: “We’re here to put a price tag on these vehicles—nothing more, nothing less.”

Meanwhile, RMV Assistant Commissioner (Technical) Sujeewa Tennakoon laid it out bluntly: “If it’s not worth keeping, it’s out the door.”

Here’s the twist—once a car is scrapped, its registration is cancelled for good. If it’s sold intact, the new owner has six months to claim the title. And one iron-clad rule? No government agency can repurchase what’s been discarded.

With the deadline looming, officials are bracing for a major shift. A senior figure at the Comptroller General’s Office hinted at what’s coming: "Come March, the headlines will tell the story."

But not everyone is hitting the gas. Some agencies are still bogged down in internal deliberations, weighing practicality against financial prudence.

Tennakoon summed up the dilemma: “Knowing when a car is more trouble than it’s worth—that’s the trick.”