Printing Driving Licenses by military is a temporary measure: Defence Secretary

Defence Secretary Gen. (Retd) Kamal Gunaratne said the driving license printing project taken over by the Army was a temporary measure following a cabinet decision to save state funds.

Responding to the media, he said, “There is no acquisition of state sector institutions by the military as said”.

Further elaborating the process, Gen. Gunaratne said that the other formalities of the Motor Traffic Department’s system remain unchanged and the Army is involved only in the printing process, according to the Defence Ministry. 

While reiterating that this is not a permanent initiative put forward by the government, he reasoned that “The military has other engagements in executing its primary role and therefore, we direct them to reinforce the national security further”.  

Meanwhile, responding to a recently triggered issue over Ukrainian tourists arriving on a safari tour, following a pilot project propelled to resume the tourism sector, the Defence Secretary explained “There are grey areas to improve when we resume work”.  

“The revival of the tourism sector is vital since many Sri Lankans involved in the sector including hoteliers have lost their source of income”, he reasoned, keeping hopes on COVID-19 vaccine that would arrive in the country in due course.