The Hon. Mujibur Rahuman

¶ 01 Hon. Deputy Chairperson, thank you for the opportunity.

¶ 02 In this Debate on the Heads of the Ministry of Defence and the Ministry of Public Security and Parliamentary Affairs, I wish to draw the attention of Ministers and Government MPs to a particular issue. We all know our State officers make great sacrifices and perform with commitment within their Ministries and Departments.

¶ 03 Recently, at the Department of Immigration and Emigration, an issue arose regarding passports. By mid-last year, this was evident. Even today, if we go there, we see officers striving to serve the public under immense pressure, with crowds from far provinces sitting on floors and queuing. It is a very distressing situation, driven by multiple factors.

¶ 04 About 80 percent of public servants voted for you. Those very voters are now distressed about some matters; they talk to us and ask us to raise them here. Confidence in you is gradually declining within the public service.

¶ 05 Compared with the previous Government, passport issuance has become a serious issue. Some say 4,000 passports are now issued daily. Yet visiting, we see how much people suffer to get one. I am not saying you created it — it arose under the previous Government — but it continues. That is the problem. It has been five months since this Government came. When you formed Government, you said you would solve this. For 24 years, without any tender, the same institution produced passports. All successive Governments gave it without tender. I do not know how the then Controller General or Secretaries allowed it. In May last year, a tender was called to issue e-passports; it was awarded with a condition to deliver five million e-passports within eight months. Despite awarding, that commitment was not met; it was breached. The company said they could only deliver by June 2025. The then Government took Cabinet approval again to procure 1.75 million machine-readable passports (MRP). Under that approval, this work continued.

¶ 06 Hon. Deputy Chairperson, today the cost to issue one passport is USD 6.42 — i.e., LKR 1,926 to the Government. One company supplies the booklet for USD 4.97; another company personalizes the data page for USD 1.45. The latter is the same firm that, without tender for 24 years, handled Sri Lanka’s passports.

¶ 07 An Hon. Member asked: what is that company’s name?

¶ 08 It still charges USD 1.45 for the personalized data page. The current unit cost is LKR 1,920; previously for the red “N Series” passport it was USD 5.89. Now, because two companies do one job, the Government pays 53 cents more per passport. For 1.75 million passports, that is an extra USD 397,000 — about LKR 119 million loss.

¶ 09 Now we charge the public LKR 20,000 per passport. Earlier, for LKR 20,000, you got the red N Series with 64 pages. The new blue passport has 48 pages. People still pay LKR 20,000. So for 16 fewer pages, each person is effectively paying LKR 6,667 more. For 1.75 million passports, that value loss is around LKR 5 billion. This started under the previous Government, but you have still not stopped it.

¶ 10 Look at the region. In India, an expedited passport costs about LKR 13,560 with 60 pages. Bangladesh issues 64-page e-passports, 10-year validity, for about LKR 3,895. In Pakistan, a one-day 100-page passport is around LKR 12,000 for five-year validity. In our country, over 80 percent obtain passports under one-day service; yet our citizens pay LKR 6,667 more for fewer pages.

¶ 11 Another serious issue is standards. ICAO provides specifications. In the old passport, the number is printed on the first page with UV features; under light it turns red — a security measure. In the new blue passport, there is no printed first-page number; identification relies on the personalized data page and perforations made locally. That data page can be replaced; numbers can be punched. This is a serious security concern. Did the former Controller General or the then Secretary not see this?

¶ 12 This could be challenged in court; if invalidated, the Government would have to recall and re-issue, because the new passport may not meet international standards. Also, the new passport lacks the “All Countries” notation that the old one had. It also lacks pages for “Alterations and Observations,” “Endorsements for Foreign Employment Registration,” and “Foreign Exchange” notes — pages for which people still pay LKR 20,000.

¶ 13 There are spelling mistakes too. Page 30: place names are misspelled in English. Page 31: other place names also have wrong spellings. This is an embarrassment abroad.

¶ 14 The page stock is so thin that official seals’ ink seeps through — a low-quality document for which people pay LKR 20,000. With economic hardships, families pawn jewelry and borrow to come for passports. You campaigned on that pain and promised to fix the mafias, yet after five months you have not.

¶ 15 We also hear you seek Cabinet approval to procure another 1.1 million passports. If this flawed passport costs LKR 1,920 and is sold to the public at LKR 20,000, how will you proceed with another 1.1 million?

¶ 16 I propose appointing a special Parliamentary committee on this. Break these mafias. Tell the country what action you have taken in five months. Are these passports compliant or not? If there are deficiencies, act — you have a responsibility.

¶ 17 Thank you.