The company handling the printing of passports has been informed to provide some 750,000 passports within a month, Leader of the House Susil Premajayantha said in parliament.
The Minister was responding to allegations by opposition MPs who accused the government of corruption in its attempt to implement a new passport issuing system, while violating the tender process.
Opposition Leader Sajith Premadasa accused the government of not having a contingency plan in introducing the new passport system.
“The President and his Cabinet must accept responsibility for not following the due process. It is the Cabinet headed by the President who made way for an unsolicited proposal to implement the new system,” Premadasa charged.
Minister Premajayantha responding to questions raised by Premadasa said that the introduction of the e-passport system was delayed due to technical issues.
Meanwhile, the issuance of regular passports has faced issues due to the lack of sufficient stocks of passports, he said. “We must regret this, as the Department of Immigration and Emigration should have conducted the necessary audits, especially during a transitionary process. However, this has not happened,” he admitted.
Following discussions with the Cabinet, the government has taken measures to print at least 750,000 normal passports to address the current issue, Premajayantha said.
“The company which is printing the passports requires a certain period of time, which is why we are facing this delay. Until this time, the Department of Immigration and Emigration is managing the situation. I believe this company has been informed to provide the normal passports within a month,” he said. (Newswire)
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