Monrovia — Attorney Dixon N. Tamba, Deputy Commissioner General for Naturalization of the Liberia Immigration Service, has denied reports that Contec Global Liberia Limited, an Indian company contracted to print resident permits, is yet to issue any resident permits, despite reportedly charging applicants $350 each.
FrontPageAfrica has been reliably informed that it has been three months since the company stop printing permits and other documents, and no permits have been printed. Instead, the company appears to be accepting only application forms from applicants while charging $350.
Attorney Tamba, speaking to FrontPageAfrica Tuesday, however, rejected the allegations, saying more than 3,000 cards have been printed.
On allegations of how an Indian company was awarded the contract over Liberian companies during the bidding process, Attorney Tamba said: "I cannot speak about the awarding of contract. The contract was awarded by our predecessor. The agreement was already dotted before we took over. And government is continuity. As an over sight Commissioner, I stop at the printing area almost every day. If someone told you no card has been printed, that's not true. Printers are electronic devices. So, for a printer to develop problem, it does not mean that the process has been stalled."
"All of the international organizations, including the United Nations, we grant them gratis resident permits. Then how can the machines be spoiled?" he asked.
Attorney Tamba, however, admitted that the at times machines responsible to print out the resident permit develop problem, but that does not mean the process has stopped.
Sign up for free AllAfrica Newsletters
Get the latest in African news delivered straight to your inbox
He added that all applications that are made for resident permits are thoroughly screened by Immigration authority before being printed. "This is an online process that requires stages. It's not about the money. Immigration authority can screen all of the information before granting printing approval to the company," he said.
Contec Global was awarded a contract by the Government of Liberia in 2021 to digitize the Liberia Alien Resident Permit. Countries in the region are already operating digitized-based systems for immigration formalities.
The government at that time said Contec Global was contracted by the government of Liberia following a competitive tender process for both Alien Resident Permit and work services by the Public Procurement and Concession Committee (PPCC) to operate digitized Resident Permits for the Liberian Alien community.
In March this year, the company turned over brand new vehicles to the authorities of the Liberia Immigration Service (LIS) to enhance its current digitized Alien Resident Permit project across the country.
