The urgency of the visa fraud issue has been underscored by the leader of the United Republican Front and Member of Parliament, Mr. Patali Champika Ranawaka.Participating in a session of the Parliament of Sri Lanka, he pointed out that No country issues visas through a private company.
He has called for the swift implementation of a specific law to combat this issue, drawing a parallel with the immediate and decisive action taken in the case of drug trafficking.
Mobitel provided the technology
After the war in 2012, a group of people conducted a critical study on this matter. They presented their proposal to the then President, Mahinda Rajapaksa.
The government-owned majority shares in Mobitel, and the company undertook the work. However, Mobitel stated that the study should be updated after five or six years.
Since 2018, proposals have been forthcoming. Following the outbreak of the Covid epidemic, in addition to a security issue, a health issue emerged.
As part of the update program, Mobitel, conducted a formal study and submitted a proposal. However, the minister in charge of public safety disregarded it and introduced a new proposal in September 2023.
The team of officers and experts assigned to review these proposals explicitly stated in their report that Mobitel’s proposal aligns with the government’s actions and is suitable.
Against the IMF proposals
The proposal fundamentally contradicts the principles of good governance that govern the government’s procurement process and the commitments made to the IMF.
Furthermore, the emerging threat of ISIS poses a significant security concern about the visa requirement.
The country also faces health risks, as evidenced by the tragic loss of tens of thousands of lives due to the influx of tourists facilitated by unscrupulous individuals during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Additionally, the government should have control over tourist data to monitor their activities and whereabouts while in the country.
A job belonging to immigration
The recent decision by the Immigration Department to transfer its longstanding data acquisition program to a foreign company, VFS Global, raises significant concerns.
This departure from the usual practice of processing visas through embassies, coupled with the lack of transparency in the agreement with the foreign company, poses a potential threat to our national security.
The recent significant hike in visa fees, which now stand at $75 for the visa, accompanied by a service charge of $18.50 and a facility fee of $7.27, brings the total cost to $100.77.
This substantial fee increase could potentially impact our competitiveness in the tourism industry, particularly when compared to other countries such as Switzerland, Maldives, Thailand, and India, with whom we compete in the tourism business.
Disadvantage for the country
If you look at it this way, it discourages tourism, but corruption is evident here. The seventy-five dollar visa fee is understandable, but the officials could not provide a clear explanation for the additional eighteen dollars and fifty cents and seven dollars and twenty-seven cents.
This lack of transparency is concerning. Furthermore, it’s evident that these decisions were not made arbitrarily on the second day of the committee meeting, as there are no clear answers.
It’s crucial to address corruption and corrupt practices in this country. However, it’s concerning that those who usually speak out against corruption remain silent when nearly two and a half million tourists are affected.
Additionally, those quick to react to any minor issue related to India are silent about transferring data related to the country’s national security to a single Indian company. This silence is troubling.
A political underworld
As I mentioned earlier, there is a political underworld in Sri Lanka today. The current government is influenced by this political underworld, and those who speak out against it are targeted by the government’s suppression tactics. The secret police is being used to suppress and politically discredit individuals rather than to investigate crimes in the country.
With the upcoming elections approaching, there is little time to address these issues. We urge government officials, especially the police and CID officers, to refrain from engaging in illegal activities that disgrace society and the country.
It is not enough to simply turn a blind eye to these issues. The government needs a comprehensive program to counter the corrupt network that operates within it.
The recent visa scandal has exposed the need for immediate and decisive action to stop this corruption. All officials and politicians involved in this must uphold the law and take responsibility for their actions, similar to the approach to combating drug trafficking.
