Regarding “free gas” or government-funded fuel, Nigel Stephenson, Minister of Transport on Thursday outlined a plan to end the abuse of state resources by implementing stricter accountability measures for government vehicles.
Stephenson criticized “custodians of government vehicles” who take the vehicles home and use them over the weekend to “lime with your friends”. He asserts that under the new government, this practice will stop.
To ensure greater accountability, the speaker states he will make sure the government fuel pumps at BRAGSA) is “locked off” and explicitly warns that if individuals drive government vehicles and do not have enough gas, they will be required to “put your own gas in” rather than relying on the state.
Stephenson mentioned concerns about collusion where “volumes of invoices” for fuel or parts are submitted without the required purchase orders, or where the same purchase order number is used twice.
The overall message Stephenson said is that individuals who can afford their own transportation should not be using public funds for fuel or vehicle maintenance.