German-printed passports set for Nepal rollout

The Department of Passports is preparing to print and give out new passports bought from two German companies starting next Monday.Even though the Prime Minister’s Office and the Commission for Investigation of Abuse of Authority tried to stop it, the plan is still moving forward.German-printed passports set for Nepal rollout.

During a meeting in the National Assembly on Tuesday, Foreign Minister Shisir Khanal told lawmakers that the department will start using the new passport system next week.German-printed passports set for Nepal rollout.

This change has taken months to happen because of problems with the process of getting the passports.
Last year, two German companies—Veridos GmbH and Muhlbauer ID Service GmbH—were given a big contract to provide passport booklets and a new system that includes hardware, software, biometric equipment, and technology for personalizing passports.

The rollout was stopped after the CIAA started a case against 18 people, including representatives from the two German companies, about possible unfair practices in getting the contract.German-printed passports set for Nepal rollout.
The issue also caught the attention of the Prime Minister’s Office, making things even more complicated.

Khanal said the government delayed switching to the new system because there were still about 250,000 passport booklets from the old supplier in stock when the current government took over in March.
If they had switched right away, they would have lost about $2.5 million, based on a cost of $10.13 per booklet.

He also mentioned that moving personal data for around 20 million Nepali citizens to the new system required temporarily stopping passport services.

To help with the change, the department has stopped taking passport applications from Tuesday to Friday at local offices and Nepal’s diplomatic missions.
Services at the Tripureshwar Department of Passports will also be affected for two days.

Khanal said there might be some small problems during the first three months after the new system goes live, but a special team will be ready to deal with any issues.

When asked about the CIAA investigation and the case against people in court, Khanal said it was not appropriate to comment on something that is still being considered in court.
However, he said the government is following the agreement it made with the supplier.

The passport issue also made Khanal cancel his planned visit to New York, where he was supposed to attend a meeting on sustainable development.
A senior official from the foreign ministry said the minister stayed in Kathmandu because the passport problem needed his immediate attention.

Lawmakers from the Rastriya Swatantra Party and the Nepali Congress called for a parliamentary investigation into the passport procurement process, claiming there were big financial problems.

Lawmakers Bikram Thapa and Khagendra Sunar from the RSP, and Janak Raj Giri from the Nepali Congress, asked the Public Accounts Committee to look into the procurement process and get all the necessary documents from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Department of Passports.German-printed passports set for Nepal rollout.

Giri said the allegations were important for the country and involved issues like transparency, accountability, and national security.

Sunar said the delays in passport printing had caused a lot of hardship for people traveling abroad and asked the committee to find out how much money the country lost and who was responsible.

Thapa also urged the committee to examine the procurement process closely and give clear instructions to the government about the delays and financial issues.

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