-Written by a Special Correspondent
(Lanka-e-News -27.Sep.2024, 11.30 pm) The Department of Motor Traffic (DMT) stands out as one of the most corrupt institutions in the public sector, a fact not only acknowledged by the people but also by the government’s audit department. The scale of corruption and embezzlement within the department has been so vast over the years that no one has managed to quantify the amount of money stolen or the losses incurred by the state due to this corruption. The primary reason for this failure is the involvement of high-ranking government officials, making it nearly impossible for the responsible authorities to intervene or take corrective action.
The Department of Motor Traffic's corruption reached new heights beginning in 2009. That year, the task of printing driver’s licenses was outsourced to a private company, Metropolitan Technologies Pvt Ltd, under the guise of introducing a new digital driver’s license system. However, instead of achieving this goal, the move was a front for significant corruption. The notorious scam involved then Commissioner General Tushara Suraveera and the IT Commissioner, who awarded the printing contract to Metropolitan Technologies without following any proper tender procedures.
Between 2009 and 2020, the fraudulent transactions between the DMT and Metropolitan Technologies Pvt Ltd allowed corrupt officials to pocket millions. Despite the public and media exposure of this scam, including widespread social media discussions and news articles, no meaningful actions were taken. The cost for printing a driver’s license was initially LKR 1,500, but after the exposure, this was reduced to LKR 1,000 in 2020. However, considering that millions of licenses were printed during this period, the total loss to the state amounts to billions of rupees.
During this 13-year period, no tenders were called, and the department violated every financial regulation while procuring equipment like printing machines, data servers, generators, printers, and toners from the same company. These illegal procurements allowed officials to siphon off significant sums of money, while the company profited by supplying counterfeit toner, among other unethical practices.
Despite the overwhelming evidence of corruption, efforts to investigate the scam have been stymied due to the involvement of powerful political and government officials. Even though a report was submitted to President Gotabaya Rajapaksa in 2020, detailing the corrupt activities of the officials involved, no serious action has been taken to date. This demonstrates the extent of the power and influence behind this scam.
In one of the most blatant displays of corruption, the printing contract continued to be awarded to Metropolitan Technologies without any competitive bidding for 13 years. Even though audit departments were aware of these activities, there has been no significant investigation into the fraud. This scam stands as one of the biggest in Sri Lanka's history, with those responsible still holding prominent positions in government, despite repeated calls for disciplinary action.
The next corrupt deal involves the E-Motaring project. This project entails the digitalization of driver's licenses, which has been awarded to the Metropolitan Company under suspicious circumstances, resulting in embezzlement of funds. The contract was secured through a fraudulent tender process, and there is currently an effort to relocate vehicle information from the Werahera premises to a rented building, with the intention of handing the building over to Metropolitan for the E-Motaring project. This corrupt tender process was facilitated by Dilum Amunugama's ministerial activities. MP Wasantha Yapa Bandara's parliamentary inquiry regarding the removal of army personnel from the driver's license department was met with an evasive answer, clearly showing the minister’s defense of Metropolitan.
Further investigation into this tender would likely reveal many hidden truths, as it is well known that Metropolitan has bribed the involved ministers. The funds exchanged between Metropolitan and the authorities can be uncovered by examining their transactions.
The next corrupt deal is the D-Merit project. Upon investigation, it becomes clear that this project was also handed to Metropolitan by ministers Bandula Gunawardena and Lasantha Alagiyawanna, with Commissioner-General Nishantha Weerasinghe playing a key role. This trio has shamelessly ensured that their preferred company received the project without any oversight. The excuse provided for outsourcing services—due to a lack of government funds—has been used to cover up their misconduct.
A significant portion of fines collected under the D-Merit project is funneled to the related company. Payments are mandated weekly or monthly, allowing the company to recover its investment in a year, after which they would enjoy profits for the remaining 10 years. While the company’s profits may not be an issue, the manner in which this project was awarded without a tender process is deeply unjust and corrupt.
The Metropolitan Company is expected to quickly generate multiple times its investment, while corrupt officials within the Ministry of Transport and the Department of Motor Traffic embezzle funds that should belong to the government.
However, there was one obstacle in facilitating these fraudulent deals: the reluctance of the finance division and accountants to easily grant approval to Commissioner-General Nishantha Weerasinghe. The two female accountants involved refused to approve suspicious transactions. Weerasinghe, growing frustrated, eventually appointed Vajira Bethmage as the Chief Financial Officer, knowing she would cooperate. Bethmage, who was previously involved in corruption at the State Printing Corporation, has continued her unscrupulous activities under Weerasinghe’s guidance.
Their goal was to remove the Army Driver’s License Division. The Commissioner-General, with the support of Bethmage and other officials, worked relentlessly, disregarding the Cabinet's approval to hand over printing services to the army through a memorandum of understanding authorized by the President.
Nishantha Weerasinghe bypassed this Cabinet decision and sent an illegal letter under his signature, transferring all printing services to the Department of Motor Traffic. It is well-known that ministers Bandula Gunawardena and Lasantha Alagiyawanna are behind this move.
Applicants are currently unable to receive printed driver's license cards due to these corrupt dealings, with only a limited number of cards being issued daily to those traveling abroad. There are now over one million pending applications for driver’s licenses. Despite the Army possessing all the necessary cards, they lack the printing machines, which are part of another fraudulent transaction orchestrated by the Department of Motor Traffic.
The Army called for competitive bids with great transparency for the purchase of six driver’s license printing machines. After opening the bids and having them evaluated by a technical committee composed of engineers, the Softlogic company, which offered the lowest bid and met all technical specifications, was selected. After getting written approval from Commissioner General Nishantha Weerasinghe, the tender was approved by the Army Tender Board, and a formal order was placed with Softlogic.
However, due to a lack of funds, Commissioner General Nishantha Weerasinghe later notified the Army to cancel the tender. Despite this, Metropolitan Company was handed the driver’s license printing contract without a tender process. Bandula Gunawardena and Lasantha Alagiyawanna, both ministers at the time, played roles in orchestrating this move, along with officials from the Motor Traffic Department.
At this point, Softlogic had already deposited the necessary funds for the bid bond, yet the tender was unlawfully canceled, causing difficulties for the Army. Softlogic later sent a letter to Commissioner General Nishantha Weerasinghe, Accountant Vajira Bethmage, and the aforementioned ministers, offering to provide six driver’s license printing machines free of charge, asking only for a small fee per printed card. This proposal was ignored, as the corrupt group aimed to hand the printing contract to Metropolitan for a much higher price.
In fact, Softlogic had proposed to print a driver’s license for Rs 80, and the Army calculated that if at least three machines were purchased, the cost per license would drop to Rs 35. Nevertheless, the ministers and officials involved initiated a corrupt deal with Metropolitan Company. The letter, also sent to former President Ranil and former Presidential Advisor Sagala Ratnayake, received no response.
The ministers involved, Sagala Ratnayake, Commissioner General Nishantha Weerasinghe, and Accountant Vajira Bethmage are fully responsible for causing inconvenience to the public by obstructing the delivery of printed driver’s licenses. Without a tender process, a cabinet paper was submitted to assign the printing task to Metropolitan, claiming that the Army would incur Rs 300 per printed license, which is grossly inflated. Softlogic’s bid was Rs 80 per card, while Metropolitan was charging Rs 857. Consequently, the corrupt deal amounts to a loss of Rs 200 million per year or Rs 2 billion over ten years.
Commissioner General Nishantha Weerasinghe was removed but has returned to service, and the corrupt tender process has resumed. The printing of driver’s licenses involves nearly 900,000 cards annually, and while Metropolitan charges Rs 857 per card, the Army had calculated a cost of Rs 300 per card. Thus, the Metropolitan deal would result in a loss of Rs 557 million annually to the government.
In summary, while presenting a fraudulent picture of transparency, the Metropolitan Company was selected under corrupt practices, significantly burdening the public treasury. Independent audits would reveal the scale of the losses caused by these corrupt officials.
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by (2024-09-27 18:02:49)
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