A special audit report covering the eighth and ninth Parliaments has revealed several irregularities involving fuel allowances, vehicle use and other expenses provided to the Speaker, Deputy Speaker and other senior parliamentary officials.
The report found that no limit had been imposed on the Speaker’s fuel usage, allowing unlimited consumption. During the final two years of the ninth Parliament, the Speaker used an average of 3,994 litres of fuel per month in 2023 and 6,122 litres in 2024. This represented increases of 66% and 155%, respectively, compared with 2022.
Annual fuel expenditure for the Speaker reached Rs. 19.37 million in 2023 and Rs. 26.05 million in 2024.
The audit also found that fuel was provided without restrictions for the Deputy Speaker and Deputy Chairperson of Committees. In 2023 and 2024, an additional 21,299 litres of fuel worth Rs. 8.55 million were provided for a private vehicle used by the Deputy Speaker, in addition to three official vehicles allocated to the post.
Fuel issued for the Deputy Speaker’s official vehicles also exceeded prescribed limits by 6,980 litres in 2023 and 1,515 litres for two vehicles in 2024.
The Chairman of Committees had also been provided with three official vehicles and unlimited fuel, despite the absence of formally determined fuel or vehicle limits for the position.
The report further revealed that the Secretary-General of Parliament used two official vehicles simultaneously during 2022 and 2023 and was not subject to fuel restrictions. Between 2022 and 2024, 15,063 litres of fuel worth Rs. 6.07 million were used, averaging 5,031 litres per year.
The audit noted that this was around 2,300 litres above the allocation applicable to a ministry secretary.
Officials holding positions equivalent to Deputy Secretary-General and Assistant Secretary-General were also granted unlimited fuel for official travel and permitted to travel up to 1,200 kilometres per month for private purposes, compared with a general limit of 960 kilometres for other departmental heads.
The audit observed that these privileges were not available to officials of equivalent rank in the wider public service and that Parliament had not taken adequate measures to align them with Public Administration Ministry circulars or establish proper controls.
The report also found that the Rs. 8 per kilometre charge for private vehicle use exceeding permitted limits, imposed until June 2022, was inadequate compared with prevailing fuel prices. This resulted in an estimated Rs. 2.71 million loss in recoverable government revenue between September 2015 and June 2022.
However, from July 2022, charges for excess private vehicle use were adjusted according to prevailing market fuel prices, significantly reducing cases of vehicle use beyond prescribed limits.
