By Nasratu Kargbo
Following concerns raised by the Deputy Leader of Government Business in Parliament over the hike in passport price, the Speaker of Parliament Chernor Abass Bundu has instructed that the Minister of Internal Affairs David Panda-Noah appear before the house to explain why the high cost and the delay to transition from machine readable to E-Passport.
Speaking in parliament on the 14th February 2023 Bashiru Silikie said: “The reason that was presented to this house as to why the passport price was pegged to a hundred dollars was that our passport was going to be an E-Passport”.
The deputy leader explained that the price used to be one hundred and later five hundred Old Leones, for a machine readable passport. He explained that the price was increased to one hundred dollars with the expectation it would be upgraded.
“If we are not able to move to an E-Passport, we should revert to the normal pricing which was in existence before we moved to the one hundred dollars,” said Silikie.
He stated that the masses are paying a huge sum of money for a machine readable passport when that should not be the case, emphasizing that with the inflation of the dollar if there is no transition, then the contract should be reviewed.
Silikie stated that the Minister of Internal Affairs should explain to parliament why the country has not transitioned from a machine readable passport to an E-Passport which has a chip.
The Deputy Speaker of Parliament Segepoh Solomon Thomas said he agrees with Silikie, stating that they had started the passport battle since the start of parliament and assured citizens that they will ensure they complete it before the end of this parliament.
“We must have this passport issue corrected once and for all” said Thomas.
The Speaker of Parliament Chernor Abass Bundu said: “When you travel to an overseas country, you will find yourself embarrassed because your passport will pass through a non-readable machine and you will be asked all kinds of questions”.
He said they cannot afford to subject citizens to embarrassment, noting that others may not be able to explain themselves to immigration officers.
Bundu requested that the Chairman of the Internal Affairs Committee in Parliament Alusine Kanneh take the message to the minister, emphasizing that “the summon must be answered”.
The Speaker said parliament expects to see the minister on Tuesday 21st February 2023 during the next sitting to explain the reason why the country has not been able to make the transition.
He added that the Minister will also be required to give an explanation for the $25 airport charge that is levied on passengers that come in and out of the country.
Copyright © 2023 Politico Online (15/02/23)
