Finance ditches car hire plans |17 May 2005

Adverts seeking tenders for a range of cars were originally placed in early January but, more than four months later, the department has finally concluded that leasing vehicles from car hire companies would be unlikely to result in any financial savings.

The car hire bidding process was handled by the National Tender Board (NTB) and a press release from the department states that, "As recommended by the NTB the Department of Finance concluded that the bids received for all categories of vehicles:
-were much higher than expected,
-were not within the budget provisions of the Government."

However, the department declined to give any details of the how much it would have been prepared to spend on the car hire scheme, or by how much the tendered bids exceeded that amount.

The tender process, begun on January 11, was for three types of car; six executive cars for ministers and judges, six cars for officers, managers and director generals and ten cars for general administrative and messenger use.

In total eight bids were received, with only one of them covering the full range of vehicles needed.

According to the press release the "main objective was for government to test the market to evaluate the cost-effectiveness of leasing vehicles from the private sector to complement its existing fleet."

A spokesperson for the Department of Finance said that the decision had been delayed by the need to enter negotiations with the bidders and to work out the cost of purchasing rather than hiring a new vehicle.

But with no cost cutting offers on the table Finance officials are going back to the drawing board.

The press release states that the department, "is currently researching ways to reduce costs and better manage the fleet of government vehicles. For example it is investigating the viability of the disposal of government vehicles after five years in operation in order to reduce repair and maintenance costs."