The Jordanian government established the Directorate of Tracking
Government Vehicles in 2015, under the umbrella of the Ministry of
Transport, to control the use of government vehicles. The first
stage was launched that same year.
According to the Directorate of Tracking Government Vehicles, the
project brought the government considerable savings, through
redeploying unused vehicles to other areas, instead of buying new
ones. In reply to questions tabled by ARIJ, the ministry said there
had been no increase in expenditure. Also, a decision was also taken
to withdraw from service vehicles with large engines and to
introduce energy-saving (hybrid and electric) vehicles. The ratio of
such vehicles increased by 23 percent between 2017 and 2024,
according to the same source.
The first phase included the installation of five thousand tracking
devices, each carrying a SIM card. The bid for this contract was
awarded to three companies - the Jordanian mobile phone company
Zain; the General Computers & Electronics Company (GCE); and the
Jordan Company for Managing &Tracking Vehicles (Traklink) – which
were responsible for supply, installation, operation and maintenance
as well as securing spare parts for the system.
The first phase of the project was completed in 2018, after which a
second phase introduced 8,500 more vehicles, bringing the number of
government vehicles included in the program to 13,500. Zain and GEC
were responsible for installing tracking devices and providing
maintenance and technical support.
The system is able to prevent the movement of any government vehicle
which does not have an electronic permit, according to a statement
by the spokesman for the Ministry of Transport, Ali Obeidat. The
ministry’s Directorate of Tracking Government Vehicles says that the
control of vehicle movement has been automated and is monitored in
real time, so that an alert is issued if vehicles are moved without
an electronic order. Nevertheless, the Audit Bureau’s latest 2022
report recorded over 300 violations in 2021, where vehicles had been
moved without a relevant order, and a 780 percent increase in such
violations for the following year (2022), bringing the total to
2,922. Meanwhile, the Audit Bureau report showed that, while
violations for using vehicles outside official working hours went
down by 28 percent, speeding violations doubled in 2022.
Ministry of Finance data indicate that spending on the vehicle
tracking programme began in earnest in 2016, with the total amount
spent by the government on technical equipment up to 2022, reaching
about JD1m ($1.4m), leaving aside the cost of software, technical
consulting services and salaries.
Data from Queclink Wireless Solutions Co. - the Chinese-based
manufacturer of the device - indicate that an alarm sounds if the
external GPS antenna attached to the device becomes disconnected.
However, the Audit Bureau found that, during 2021, and 2022, there
were 120 cases where the device stopped working, because the power
supply had been disconnected. Most of these cases were in 2021.
Although the Audit Bureau’s report indicates a decline of
approximately 30 percent in violations involving the use of
government vehicles outside official working hours in 2022, compared
to 2021, and also a significant drop in violations involving
disconnection of the power supply stopping the device from working,
the bureau was relying in that report on data gathered solely from
the vehicle tracking system itself.
Increased expenditure
Transport Minister Wesam Tahtamouni announced in August 2024 that
the government vehicle tracking project had helped save around
JD4.3m (£6m approx.) in fuel consumption up to 2023.
But analysis of the Jordan state budgets for the last seven years
shows that spending on fuel for government vehicles increased by
nearly 240 percent between 2017 and 2023. This includes transport
vehicles, heavy machinery and saloon cars – four-door cars for
passengers only. Heavy machinery refers to vehicles used in
construction, while transport vehicles include buses and others.
Increase in spending on fuel for government vehicles since 2017
Expenditures of transport vehicles and heavy machinery
Expenditures of passenger cars
Figures in Jordanian dinars. Re-estimated value used for 2023 because no actual figure available
Health and education came top of the list of ministries who reduced
spending on fuel for government passenger cars, cutting their bills
by JD300,000 in 2022 compared with 2017. They were followed by the
Ministry of Justice, with a reduction of more than JD160,000
Jordanian dinars (approximately $226,000).
The Ministry of Interior/Public Security accounted for the greatest
increase in fuel expenditure for passenger vehicles – of the order
of ten million Jordanian dinars between 2017 and 2022. Likely due to
its operation: requiring patrolling in vehicles round the clock.
Next came the Jordan Valley Authority, under the Ministry of Water,
with an increase of over one million Jordanian dinars for the same
period. Then came the Ministry of Agriculture, whose spending
increased by about 350 thousand Jordanian dinars over the same
period. The Directorate of Tracking and Monitoring Government
Vehicles points out that Public Security vehicles are not subject to
monitoring by the government vehicle tracking system.
Of all the state companies and agencies which saw an increase in
spending on fuel for passenger vehicles, the Jordan Water Company
and Yarmouk Water Company came top of the list.
Rising fuel prices does not explain the increase in expenditures of vehicle fuel for the period 2017-2023
Source: Analysis of budget data 2017-2022 - Jordanian Ministry of Finance
ge percentage change calculated for all types of vehicle fuels
Although the number of government vehicles fell by around 2,000
between 2020 and 2022, data analysis shows that spending on vehicle
fuel in this same period rose by JD2.5m ($3.5m). Analysis also shows
that, leaving aside spending on fuel for Public Security vehicles,
the government’s fuel bill for this period went up by 50 percent,
despite the high number of vehicles being withdrawn from service.
Health, Education, and “Public Works and Housing” - the ministries that have reduced their passenger car fuel bills the most.
Change in amount spent on fuel for passenger cars 2017-2022
Source: Analysis of General budget data 2017-2022 - Jordanian Ministry of Finance
Expenditure in Jordanian Dinars
Our analysis of the gasoline price rise between 2017 and 2023 shows
that the price of vehicle fuels - including all types of gasoline
and diesel - increased on average by 36 percent between 2017 and
2023. And yet government fuel expenditure went up 240 percent, an
additional outlay of around JD30m ($42m approx.).
Over the last two years also, the rise in fuel prices fails to
explain increased spending on fuel for vehicles, whose numbers have
not changed. Gasoline and diesel prices went up only one percent,
while vehicle fuel expenditure rose 11 per cent over these two
years. This extra spending amounted to JD4.3m ($6m).
Changing fuel prices do not appear to be the main factor behind the
changes in fuel bills at a time when the vehicle tracking system was
being expanded. The average price of fuel rose on average by 18 per
cent between 2017 and 2018, while the government’s fuel bill did not
increase, but actually saw a modest fall of three percent. And the
average vehicle fuel price increase in 2023 was only one percent,
yet the fuel bill went up 15 per cent that same year.
Nocturnal activity
A couple of government vehicles are parked in front of one of the
hotels overlooking the Red Sea coast, in Aqaba Governorate. The two
cars, which belong to municipalities outside the governorate, are
then left in the hotel parking lot, instead of in a government
garage.
Elsewhere, a vehicle from a municipality outside the capital pulls
up late at night next to a famous hotel in the Shmeisani area. It is
difficult to imagine what official business would require a
government vehicle to be used after midnight in such an area!
In reply to questions from the ARIJ Network, the Directorate of
Tracking Government Vehicles said that government vehicles could
well be in use day or night, or during official holidays. When these
vehicles are seen on the streets, they will be engaged on official
business - accompanying official delegations and visits to
government agencies. If they were to be used for private purposes,
says the directorate, then this would be picked up by the electronic
system, and the perpetrator would face the necessary sanction.
We also asked the directorate how the tracking system came to locate
outside the country a government vehicle which was attached to one
of the municipalities in the Central Region. The directorate replied
that this was a new problem that had arisen at the start of 2024,
and was due to interference in the electronic tracking systems
caused by the war in the region. This interference was affecting
devices near the border area.
Nevertheless, the field work carried out by the author of this
investigation has shown that many government vehicles are being used
outside working hours, and on official and public holidays, and that
this happens outside the region or governorate where the vehicle’s
agency is located.
About 78% of the monitored cases occurred during evening hours, with
all vehicles found in locations far from the ministries or
government entities to which they belong. Exceptions were made for
vehicles from the Ministries of Health, Interior, and Defense, as
well as the Customs Department, since it is difficult to determine
the purpose of their evening movements, given that they might be
operating during those times as part of official duties.
Our field monitoring revealed that people used government vehicles
to go shopping with others, including children and teenagers.
Government vehicles were also spotted parked up in front of grocery
stores, shopping malls, barbershops, and restaurants.
Our monitoring also revealed that the tracking devices in some
vehicles were not working, according to data from the government
tracking system
The Directorate of Tracking Government Vehicles says that, if there
is a malfunction in an electronic tracking device, or if there is no
signal, this shows up immediately on the system. And devices are
serviced weekly to ensure that the system stays working effectively.
The device frequently malfunctions; on one occasion, a vehicle
belonging to a municipality was spotted parked in front of a
commercial building in the evening. However, the government tracking
system showed a different location for the vehicle—one recorded two
weeks earlier—not its actual current position. Despite this, the
system displayed a green indicator, signaling that the tracking
device was supposedly functioning.
Municipalities are among the most frequent violators when it comes
to the misuse of government vehicles.
The latest Audit Bureau report (2022) shows that some of the
municipalities outside the capital are among the official agencies
most responsible for exceeding their fuel allocations, and also for
either having broken tracking devices in their vehicles, or not
using the tracking system at all.
Government vehicles have not just been taken out for family or
personal “outings”. People have even used them for illegal
activities, like carrying smuggled goods, for illegal fishing, or to
“harass” people, according to the verdicts in Jordanian courts,
following the introduction of the electronic tracking system.
Jordan Water Company, Yarmouk Water Company and Jordan Post topped the list of entities and companies with the highest increase in fuel expenditure for passenger vehicles.
analysis of General budget 2017-2022 - Jordanian Ministry of Finance
Expenditure in Jordanian Dinars
Small cars, big bills
Small passenger-only vehicles, numbering 3,300, constitute a quarter
of the government’s total fleet of vehicles. But in 2022 it spent
about JD17m ($24m) on fuel for these passenger cars.
In 2022, the number of government vehicles reached 15,331, about 90
percent of which come under the government tracking system. The
Ministry of Transport says it allocates around JD300,000 ($423,000)
annually to keep the system running. There are, however, only four
technical staff working on it, and they are responsible for covering
the locations of all government agencies.
This expenditure does not cover other tracking systems. The Central
Bank and the Aqaba Special Economic Zone Authority both have their
own tracking systems.
The report, through tracking data of several government vehicles
operating on the streets during evening hours, revealed that the
tracking system was providing the coordinates of the vehicle’s
location from days earlier, not on the day of the field monitoring.
This suggests that the tracking device was intermittently
functioning. This issue was also observed in a vehicle granted a
temporary exemption from monitoring; however, the device failed to
resume operation after the exemption period ended, and the system
did not flag the end of the exemption, instead indicating that the
tracking device was still active.
While this report highlighted the repeated misuse of vehicles for
non-official purposes and the inefficiency of the tracking devices,
these factors alone do not fully explain the growing government fuel
bill.
According to the guidelines set for the government tracking system
in 2017, the government agency should be issuing electronic permits
for use of its vehicles. However, the Audit Bureau has detected an
increase of about 780 percent between 2021 and 2022 in violations
related to failure to issue electronic permits for government
vehicles.
While working on this report, and through the vehicle tracking
system, it was discovered that the tracking device in one government
vehicle had been nonfunctional for months. This vehicle had
previously been involved in an illegal activity, as determined by a
judicial ruling. The tracking device in the same vehicle resumed
functioning after months of inactivity but stopped again shortly
before the publication of this report.
This report was produced with the support of ARIJ.