Rs 25bn Spent Patching State Cars — Now a New Fleet. Smarter Late, or Should've Known Sooner?

President Anura Kumara Dissanayake says the government has spent close to Rs 25 billion keeping its ageing fleet of state vehicles on the road, and now wants to retire them and buy new ones instead, arguing that repairs are costing more than replacement would. No numbers yet on how many vehicles, what they will cost, or what happens to the old ones. One side: anyone who has run an old car knows there is a point where throwing money at repairs stops making sense, if that logic holds for your own vehicle it holds for a government fleet too, and waiting longer would only have cost more. The other side: ordinary buyers are stuck paying higher duties and import surcharges specifically because the state says it needs the forex, while officials now plan a fresh round of vehicle purchases for themselves. Where should the line be, is a planned fleet renewal basic asset management, or is it the kind of spending normal taxpayers never get to approve for their own cars? If you have ever seen a government vehicle up close or tried to get one serviced, what condition was it in? ඔබේ වාහනය මේ වගේ පරණයි නම්, අලුත් එකක් ගන්නද අලුත්වැඩියා කරන්නද හොඳද?