JO says Govt. closing stable after horses have bolted

• Claims all MPs have already used their vehicle permits

By Nuwan Senarathna

The Joint Opposition yesterday charged that the Government’s decision to suspend issuing vehicle permits for one year to ease pressure on the rupee was akin to closing the stable after the horses had bolted.

“All the MPs have already used their vehicle permits either to buy a vehicle or sell their permits. Therefore we see this as a cunning move by the Government to mislead the public,” MP Bandula Gunawardene told journalists.

He alleged that a lot of corruption was present in the import of vehicles to avoid the imports tax hence a special tax mechanism based on the engine capacity was needed.

The parliamentarian said the Government should consider sustainable measures to ease pressure off the rupee. He opined that the curbing of imports was the only way to do this but noted: “Restricting imports will not bring a permanent solution. Therefore we need to look for policies for a sustainable economy.”