By Lemuella Tarawallie
The Chairman of the parliamentary Public Account Committee (PAC), Hon. Ibrahim Tawa Conteh, has urged the Chief Immigration Officer and the management of Netpage, the company contracted to print Sierra Leonean passports, to ensure that they table in parliament the reviewed, amended, and revised Royalty Agreement that was signed between Netpage and the Government of Sierra Leone.
Hon. Tawa Conteh made this statement on Tuesday at the Administrative Hall of Parliament, Tower Hill in Freetown, when investigating the issue of “outstanding royalty” not paid by Netpage as highlighted by Audit Service Sierra Leone (ASSL) for the Financial Year of 2022.
The PAC Chairman stated that the committee requested for ASSL, the Immigration Department, and Netpage for them to submit documents regarding the contract, which stipulated that 8% from the sale of each E-passport shall be paid to the Government of Sierra Leone by the Netpage. He revealed that upon investigation by ASSL, it was proven that the contact that was entered into by Netpage and the Government of Sierra Leone did not capture any payment of royalty as at the time when the contract was approved by the Government of Sierra Leone.
Hon. Conteh added that the issue was a burning matter as “US$429,627 was going away just like that”. He noted that the agreement was not properly tabled in parliament and therefore it was counter-productive.
He concluded that as a committee, they were giving the Immigration Department and Netpage two weeks to negotiate and ensure that parliament have a report on the outcome of their negotiation.