The Government of Sierra Leone has lamented that it can no longer afford to subsidise the cost of passports for its citizens. This was revealed at the launching the new e-passport (Biometric) for citizens at the Ministry of Internal Affairs Conference Hall at Gloucester Street, Freetown on Monday August 31st 2015. In his statement, the Minister of Internal Affairs, J. B. Dauda said government over the years has been investing heavily in the production of passports which resulted in subsidizing each passport purchased for only One Hundred thousand Leones by citizens with an additional top-up from government of a whopping Two Hundred Thousand Leones to the passport manufacturer. That was for the ordinary machine-readable passports. The country was now moving from machine-readable to the more sophisticated and expensive Biometric E-Passports.
The Minister said the subsidies on the older passports had created much burden on government which was left owing huge arrears to the producer, De La Rue. This, he pointed out, was because the country’s passports were solicited by neighbouring citizens attracted to the lowest passport fees in the sub-region.
Minister Dauda said this state of affairs required swift changes; especially as they moved forward from Machine Readable to Biometric e-passports.
He assured the general populace that his ministry will monitor the implementation of the new process of the e-passports and correct any lacuna that will arise as the new arrangement rolls out.
Adding his voice to the occasion, the contractor Da La Rue assured Sierra Leoneans of his company’s fullest support in the transformation process from the Machine readable to e-passports as his company has been working in the country for over 54 years and has delivered a variety of significant projects including the Banknotes, National ID Cards, Immigration Visas and the National Passports.
Immigration boss, Alpha Kholifa Koroma said the transformation system from Machine Readable Passports to the Electronically Digital Biometric has been launched twice in 2009 and 2015 by His Excellency, Dr. Ernest Bai Koroma and that it was a clear indication that the country is complying with the ICAO requirements in terms of international security arrangement.
He said the transformation from Machine Readable Passport to Biometric was to fight against corrupt practices which according to him have constantly eroded the good image of the institution. He bade farewell to the conspiracy theories of breeding corruption complicated systems, assuring all and sundry that the new system will be corrupt free from processes and procedures including application stage to end product.
He concluded his statement by assuring the general populace that his Supervising Minister and Deputy are working exhaustively to map out and shift the strategy to get the Immigration department moving faster to attain international standards.
Welcoming the audience, Chairman for the ceremony, Augustine Sahr Sheku said the event was a milestone in the country’s governance environment as it spoke of the development paradigms such as the adoption of a market economy under state regulations to create a network of organizations that could enable the market to operate more effectively and efficiently.
He said that the objective of economy governance is to move away from government as a substitute for market and towards a reliance completion in the market as more effective way to promote the public good while government remains the solution of last resort for a host of societal demands.
Meanwhile, as reported on yesterday, the Vice President Ambassador Victor Bockarie Foh whilst deputizing President Koroma to officially launch the passports, said that the e-Passports are the latest generation of passports that combine printing and digital technology and that it is a revamp of the current Machine Readable passport that Sierra Leoneans are using.
VP Foh recalled that his government through the leadership of His Excellency, Dr. Ernest Bai Koroma in 2009 changed the old fashion handwritten passport to ECOWAS Machine readable passport system. The budge, he said, guaranteed the country’s conformity with international best practices, adding that it also made passport management more effectual and improved national and international security systems.
Demonstrating his government commitment in moving the country forward, the Vice President said the transformation that has taken from Machine Readable passport to e-passport conveyed a momentous advanced level of trust, perk up border security and spectacularly enhanced the protection of Sierra Leoneans’ identities.
The e-passport, he maintained, allied the country to Travelers Identification Programme Strategy (TRIP) of ICAO, improved automation and speeds up document checking at border controls, adding that it also improves services to passport holders.
The e-passport, he went on, strengthens trust and recognition of the country internationally, thus leading to the removal of visas in the future for travelers.
Emphasizing on the importance of the e-passport to the nation, the Hon. Vice President reiterated that the introduction of the new technology passport system was a key stepping stone in the digital path of the country’s delivering e-Government service to its citizens.
He furthered that the features of the scheme which is coupled with the use of a local partner, Netpage Ltd, the e-passport will ensure the transfer of knowledge and skills from De La Rue by enabling the remote installation of technology and training.
The Contractor, De La Rue, he said, has an impeccable credibility in handling matters of this nature as they have handled the passport and national currency for over 40 years.
De La Rue, he reiterated, are the leading commercial e-passport producers worldwide, adding that they have transformed many countries to e-passport especially in the African continent.
He commended the Minister of Internal Affairs, the Immigration department, Contractor and the Local Partners for their efforts in making e-passport a success in the country.
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Quelle/Source: Awareness Times, 03.09.2015
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