In a statement, TISL emphasized that the petition was lodged in the public interest due to a lack of transparency and failure to adhere to guidelines in the decision-making and procurement processes. These issues, TISL argues, affect the tourism industry, national economy, and national security.
The petitioners assert that the actions and inactions of the respondents infringe upon citizens’ fundamental rights to equality and access to information, as guaranteed under Articles 12(1) and 14A of the Constitution.
Respondents named in the petition include the Minister of Public Security, the Controller General of Immigration, the Sri Lanka Tourism Development Authority, GBS Technology Services & IVS Global-FZCO, VFS VF Worldwide Holdings LTD, the Sri Lankan Cabinet, and the Attorney General.
Key issues raised in the petition include:
- The improper and irregular selection of private entities as authorized representatives for visa issuance.
- The potential for significant financial losses and damage to the tourism sector due to agreements with private parties.
- An incident at Bandaranaike International Airport in May 2024, which highlighted problems with the appointment of private entities for visa processing.
- The previous partnership with Mobitel (Pvt) Limited, which operated smoothly since 2012, without major issues such as breakdowns, negative publicity, or data breaches.
- Mobitel’s proposal in August 2023 to improve the ETA system at no cost to the government, and its offer to provide ETA platform services for USD 1 per application, compared to the USD 18.50 charged by GBS Technology Services & IVS Global-FZCO and VFS VF Worldwide Holdings LTD.
TISL’s petition calls for accountability from the respondents for their alleged illegal, arbitrary, and unreasonable actions or omissions in the procurement process.
The new visa issuance system, managed by global visa processing service VFS Global, has faced scrutiny following a local passenger’s concerns and a widely circulated video of the incident on social media.
A subsequent investigation by the Committee on Public Finance (CoPF) revealed that VFS Global was selected without a formal bidding process, resulting in the Department of Immigration and Emigration missing out on competitive rates for visa issuance, according to the CoPF report presented in Parliament.
Source – newswire.lk
