Sierra Leone’s Parliamentary Public Accounts Committee condemns unlawful extension of Netpage passport deal

Lawrence Williams: Sierra Leone Telegraph: 24 February 2026:

In March 2025, the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) faulted Sierra Leone’s Immigration Department and the Ministry of Internal Affairs for what can best be described as gross negligence and bastardisation of the 1991 Constitution.

This condemnation comes after the renewal and extension of the government’s passport production contract with Netpage for a further five-year period without securing Cabinet approval or parliamentary ratification, despite being fully aware of the procedures governing the piloting of bills and agreements and the need for parliamentary approval.

The PAC report, signed by its Chairman and Deputy Speaker of Parliament, Hon. Ibrahim Tawa Conteh, concluded that “The Committee faulted the Immigration Department and the Ministry of Internal Affairs for failing to table the new agreement to Cabinet for consideration and finally to Parliament for approval.”

The PAC report was preceded by a warning letter dated 12 February 2025, in which Hon. Ibrahim Tawa urged the Ministry of Internal Affairs to strictly compile to the constitution by ensuring the unapproved agreement between the government and Netpage was laid before Parliament for ratification.

The original passport contract, ratified by Parliament in 2013, expired in 2023. Instead of presenting the new agreement to Cabinet and subsequently to Parliament for ratification, the Ministry of Internal Affairs and the Immigration Department chose rather to extend the contract for an additional five years, in direct violation of Section 118 of the 1991 Constitution.

A recent report by the Institute for Governance Reform (IGR) described such actions as indicative of a broader pattern of business elites capturing bureaucratic institutions, exerting control over bureaucrats and political elites, and influencing the appointment and transfer of civil servants to gain undue advantage in public procurement.

IGR highlighted how these forms of capture pressure government officials to break procurement rules in ways that primarily benefit business interests, thereby weakening administrative and institutional integrity.

The legal and financial consequences of such practices are significant. Another PAC report released in February 2026 warned that failure to ratify agreements not only “exposes public revenues to loss” but also “undermines fiscal transparency and accountability.”

According to IGR, between 65,000 and 70,000 passports are produced annually, generating estimated sales of between $7 million and $9 million.

Over the past decade, passport sales are believed to have generated at least $70 million, yet the governance watchdog said the government received no royalty payments.

Between 2013 and 2023, several reports also surfaced of Sierra Leonean passports being found in the possession of dangerous criminals in Europe and the Western Hemisphere.

At one point, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs indicated that many of the so-called “illegal aliens” processed for deportation to Sierra Leone by the Trump administration were not bona fide Sierra Leonean citizens, despite holding Sierra Leonean passports.

Meanwhile, citizens are calling on the government to publicly advertise contracts for the production and sale of Sierra Leonean passports. They argue that opening the process to credible local and international bidders would help ensure stronger security standards for the country’s sovereign travel document while also guaranteeing fair revenue arrangements for the state.