In accordance with an agreement involving the project implementing agency, the International Migration Organization (IOM), specific work would have to be complete by end of September this year.
The project was intended to strengthen Sri Lanka’s post-war efforts to curb growing malpractices by streamlining the passport issuing process, sources said.
Responding to a query by The Island, sources asserted that Australian Minister of Immigration and Border Protection Scot Morrison’s visit to Colombo early this week to attend the commissioning of two large patrol vessels donated by the government of Australia to the Sri Lanka Navy couldn’t have taken place at a better time.
Asked for a comment from the Australian High Commission in Colombo as regards the status of the project implemented through the International Migration Organization (IOM), a mission spokesperson said: "Australia is committed to initiatives in Sri Lanka that assist the development of institutional capacity, promote legitimate travel and deter irregular migration. The Sri Lankan Biometrics Project aims to improve the integrity of Sri Lankan passports by introducing biometric capture capabilities into passport application processing systems. The Sri Lankan Government is co-funding the project. Australia is currently working with the International Organization for Migration (IOM) and the Sri Lankan Department of Immigration and Emigration (DIE) to execute the project."
The IOM has received Rs. 500 mn from Australia to carry out the project whereas the government of Sri Lanka pledged Rs. 50 to DIE for preliminary work.
The Island learns that the IOM had received first instalment in June 2013, two months before the cabinet approved the project. The official announcement was made in the following month, though almost nothing happened until January this year, sources said.
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Autor(en)/Author(s): Shamindra Ferdinando
Quelle/Source: The Island, 21.07.2014
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