By Foday Moriba Conteh

A new governance report has reignited debate over Sierra Leone’s national e-passport programme, raising serious concerns about revenue losses, high passport fees and weak oversight in the long-standing contractual arrangement between the state and a private passport supplier.

The report, released by the Institute for Governance Reform (IGR), questions whether the Government is deriving fair value from the e-passport contract awarded to Netpage, the firm responsible for the production and sale of Sierra Leonean passports. It argues that the arrangement reflects deeper structural problems in how lucrative public contracts are negotiated, renewed and monitored.

Titled :“‘Di hade’ pa di case’: Politics and Revenue Failures in Sierra Leone”, a Krio phrase translated as “the heart of the matter”, the report examines revenue-generating state concessions and how they often benefit private interests more than the public purse. The e-passport deal is cited as a prominent example of how weak contract governance can undermine national revenue mobilization.

According to IGR, between 60,000 and 70,000 passports are issued annually in Sierra Leone. Based on current fees, this volume is estimated to generate between USD 7 million and USD 9 million each year. Despite this significant earning potential, the report states that it found no clear evidence of royalty payments or similar revenues from the e-passport operation being paid into the Government’s Consolidated Revenue Fund. IGR describes this absence of traceable income as a major fiscal gap in a country facing persistent budgetary pressures.

The report also highlights the high cost of acquiring a Sierra Leonean passport. With fees ranging from USD 100 to USD 180, the document is among the most expensive in the West African region. IGR argues that such pricing places an undue burden on citizens, particularly low-income earners and is difficult to justify without transparent disclosure of how revenues are shared or reinvested into public services.

Beyond pricing and revenue flows, IGR raises concerns about the procurement and renewal process underpinning the e-passport contract. The report notes that the agreement has reportedly been renewed multiple times without open competitive bidding or a comprehensive value-for-money assessment. That, it argues, undermines established public procurement principles and limits the state’s ability to renegotiate improved terms that could increase Government revenue or reduce costs to citizens.

The findings are situated within a broader analysis of Sierra Leone’s economic governance challenges. While corruption, political instability and ethnic politics are often blamed for weak public finances, IGR contends that inadequate scrutiny of high-value contracts plays an equally damaging role. When critical revenue streams are structured in ways that limit state benefits, the report warns, the long-term impact is reduced fiscal space for essential services such as health, education and infrastructure.

Drawing on data from approximately 3,400 state contracts, as well as interviews with current and former officials from successive administrations, the report concludes that the issues highlighted by the e-passport deal cut across political cycles. The contract, it notes, has spanned multiple Governments, suggesting that the problem lies not with any single administration but with entrenched institutional practices.

IGR further alleges that powerful business actors often employ strategies to maintain control over lucrative concessions. These include cultivating relationships across political parties, structuring agreements around institutions rather than individuals to ensure continuity and exploiting moments of political transition when oversight may be weaker. The report also suggests that influence over sections of the media can sometimes be used to reduce sustained public scrutiny of controversial contracts.

While acknowledging that ethical public servants and reform-oriented business leaders exist, IGR warns that a system has emerged in which large public revenue losses are effectively normalized. Weak accountability mechanisms and the absence of strong political platforms focused on economic governance reform, it argues, further entrench the problem.

Ultimately, the report presents the e-passport contract as more than an administrative concern. It frames it as a clear illustration of how flawed contractual arrangements can quietly drain national resources over time. Without greater transparency, competitive procurement processes and firm political will to protect public revenue, IGR cautions that Sierra Leone risks continuing a cycle in which private interests benefit disproportionately while citizens bear the cost. https://thecalabashnewspaper.com/netpage-e-passport-contract-faces-fresh-scrutiny-over-revenue-leakages/