Freetown, Sierra Leone — The Public Accounts Committee (PAC) of Parliament has strongly criticized the Ministry of Internal Affairs and the Immigration Department for extending the country’s passport production contract with Netpage without obtaining the required Cabinet approval and parliamentary ratification.
According to a PAC report released in March 2025, Committee Chairman and Deputy Speaker of Parliament, Hon. Ibrahim Tawa Conteh, described the extension as a serious breach of constitutional requirements.
He said the decision ignored established procedures, noting that any new or extended agreement must be presented to both Cabinet and Parliament for approval.
The original passport production contract, which Parliament ratified in 2013, expired in 2023. However, instead of seeking fresh approval, officials reportedly extended the agreement for another five years.
The committee maintained that this action contravenes Section 118 of the 1991 Constitution. Hon. Conteh had earlier issued a warning in February 2025 urging the relevant authorities to follow due process, but the advice was not acted upon.
Meanwhile, the Institute for Governance Reform (IGR) has also raised concerns, describing the development as part of a broader pattern of irregularities in public procurement. The organization estimates that between 65,000 and 70,000 passports are produced each year, generating millions of dollars in revenue, but claims the government has not benefited from royalties over the past decade.
PAC warned that such actions threaten transparency and accountability in public finance. There are growing calls from citizens and civil society groups for future passport contracts to be openly tendered to qualified local and international companies to ensure fairness and improved returns for the state.
