Outsourcing visas: Unsolicited passport to corruption

ACabinet Minister’s assertion this week that the Government did not “need to call for tenders” because “who else is there to tender”, before awarding a lucrative 12-year visa processing contract to a foreign joint venture is the cementing of an alarming trend that makes a mockery of all new anti-corruption and governance related laws rushed into place at the IMF’s (International Monetary Fund) behest.

This was confirmation that the deal to vet online and on-arrival tourist visa applications was granted to a three-party consortium on an unsolicited bid. Hasn't this country fallen into enough trouble over a string of unsolicited projects and tenders already to learn its lessons?

This is a textbook example of why Sri Lanka’s procurement system has collapsed to the serious detriment of the tax-paying public. It is why ordinary people suffering under the burden of the cost of living blame it on the hidden costs that are included in the goods and services they have to pay for from their meagre earnings. It is why there is a wave of support for political parties that point that out.

A contract to handle visa documents, it might be argued, does not have the same horrifying impact as, say, providing counterfeit medication to government hospitals. Or as costly as building a harbour. But the underlying concerns are the same. To conduct public purchasing in this manner is a serious violation of public trust as well as all administrative, financial and procurement regulations that exist to shield against numerous misdeeds including fraud, bribery and just plain bad judgment.

In this particular instance—where the contract involves the UAE-registered IVS Global-FZCO, the Singapore-registered GBS Technology Services and the Dubai-headquartered VFS VF Worldwide—there are other serious concerns, such as the protection of national data. Initially, this coalition had also offered to act as the front end of Sri Lanka's consular work in some selected capitals presently handled by the Foreign Ministry.

On the face of it, there are positives. Sri Lankan missions are few and far between, in comparison to the number of Sri Lankan citizens currently working abroad in every conceivable country. In West Asia and Europe, some citizens have to travel miles to reach a Sri Lankan Government consular office. Yet there is confusion on how e-visas which are instant, work, and what role the Immigration Office really plays and how much of personal data is in the hands of private companies.

There are also reams and reams of complaints against VFS activities coming to us in Sri Lanka from around the world. These may be from competitors looking to grab their multimillion-dollar business, or they may be genuine complaints of corruption.

So when there are national security and border control issues involved, outsourcing what is the government's responsibility, why was all this e-visa business hammered out behind closed doors? Is Cabinet merely a rubber-stamping body for any one Minister, and then in this instance, for a colleague to cry out later as the bubble burst that he knew nothing of the contract?

The enthusiastic assertion that the IVS-GBS-VFS deal was Sri Lanka’s best option was disingenuous. The national telecom service provider—which had hosted an effective online visa processing system till a new deal was inexplicably struck—had offered an upgrade for exceedingly cheaper, under a format that would have allowed money to be retained in Sri Lanka. Sri Lanka showcases its competence in the IT industry and then outsources its own work to foreign companies.

Something is certainly not right here.