Kathmandu – Nepal’s Prime Minister’s Office has pressured officials at the Department of Passports to cancel the country’s passport printing contract with two German companies and instead pursue a deal with French firm IDEMIA, according to multiple department sources.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Sources at the department said Madhav Khanal, who serves in the Prime Minister’s Secretariat recently called Deepak BK who is currently overseeing the department and instructed him to cancel the existing contract.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The development comes after allegations of irregularities in the passport procurement process prompted the Prime Minister’s Office to push for an investigation by the Commission for the Investigation of Abuse of Authority (CIAA). The anti-graft body has since filed cases against officials at the Department of Passports and the companies involved, according to the sources.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Department sources said Khanal called BK on Saturday, asking him to terminate the current tender and begin discussions with French company IDEMIA to move the passport procurement process forward. Following the call, officials from the Department of Passports met Foreign Minister Shisir Khanal and Foreign Secretary Amrit Bahadur Rai to raise their concerns.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
According to the sources, the foreign minister instructed the department to continue with the existing procurement process for the time being. However, a group within the Prime Minister’s Office continues to favour procuring passports from IDEMIA through a variation to an earlier arrangement, the sources said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The issue has also drawn the attention of the German Government. According to the sources, Germany formally emailed Nepal’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs seeking security guarantees for employees of the German companies involved in the contract.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The companies have told the government they can begin printing new passports by July 15. They have a five-year agreement to print 6.4 million passports, according to the sources but have said they require assurances over the safety of their staff before proceeding.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Department sources also claimed that Prime Minister’s political adviser Asim Shah has been actively pushing for the contract to be cancelled. In contrast, Foreign Minister Khanal believes cancelling the agreement at this stage could create legal and diplomatic complications and has argued that the existing companies should be allowed to carry out the contract.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
According to the sources, the foreign minister has also advised the Prime Minister that if the German companies pursue arbitration, Nepal could face significant financial liabilities and damage to its international credibility. Despite those concerns, discussions are underway within the government on the possibility of cancelling the agreement through a cabinet decision, the sources said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Department sources said representatives of the German companies have already printed sample passports and presented them to the Prime Minister’s team. Despite this, pressure from a group close to the Prime Minister to terminate the contract has continued, with the sources also alleging the involvement of Information Technology Adviser Bibek Mishra.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The dispute comes as Nepal faces a shrinking stock of passport booklets. According to the sources, the government is preparing to reduce passport distribution to two days a week as supplies decline.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Uncertainty within the government over whether to procure passports through a variation with the previous company or proceed with the current contract has left the procurement process unresolved, according to the sources.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Kathmandu – Nepal’s Prime Minister’s Office has pressured officials at the Department of Passports to cancel the country’s passport printing contract with two German companies and instead pursue a deal with French firm IDEMIA, according to multiple department sources. Sources at the department said Madhav Khanal, who serves in the Prime Minister’s Secretariat recently called […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":27796,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-28889","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-nepal"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n