Front Line Socialist Party recently held a press conference in Nugegoda, where they addressed significant concerns regarding foreign passport issuance and alleged public funds fraud. Speaking at the event, Pubudu Jayagoda, a candidate for the Colombo District, highlighted the ongoing issues surrounding passport applications in Sri Lanka.
Jayagoda explained that the usual demand for passports in the country is around 2,800 per day. However, in recent times, only 1,000 passports were being processed daily. This slowdown was attributed to the government’s transition from issuing Machine Readable Passports (MRPs) to a new type of E-Passport equipped with a chip and enhanced security features. Implementing this change required a new Public Key Infrastructure (PKI), but delays arose after the initial Expression of Interest (EOI) called for PKI implementation, which was later rejected in favor of a tender without PKI requirements.
In this tender process, four companies participated, with three qualifying. A Peruvian company associated with Epic Lanka bid $9.85, a Malaysian-affiliated company named Metropolitan offered $6.37, while a French company linked to Thales submitted the lowest bid of $5.02. Ultimately, the tender was awarded to the company offering the lowest price. However, Epic Lanka, which has been involved in passport issuance in Sri Lanka for 21 years, contested the tender in court, leading to further delays and long queues for passport processing.
Jayagoda noted that the legal dispute was not about the tender’s validity but rather Epic Lanka’s claim to have exclusive rights to issue passports in Sri Lanka. Although the Immigration and Emigration Department opposed this claim, the court ruled that if payments were to be made to Epic Lanka, they should not exceed $1.50 per passport. A committee has since been established to make recommendations, but no conclusions have been reached yet.
Currently, Epic Lanka is asserting that an agreement exists allowing them to issue passports, a claim the Immigration Department denies. Jayagoda raised concerns about the legitimacy of this agreement and called for an immediate investigation to clarify whether such an agreement was ever signed.
The “Just in Time” company is now responsible for issuing 750,000 passports, with Epic Lanka entitled to $1.45 for each passport processed, totaling approximately one million dollars. Jayagoda condemned this arrangement as a substantial misuse of public funds and urged the government to clarify its position on the matter.
He further criticized Epic Lanka for its prior involvement in a data fraud case related to the National Drug Regulatory Corporation elections, reinforcing the need for a formal investigation into the company’s activities. Front Line Socialist Party is demanding that the government take immediate action to prevent any further misallocation of public resources.
