Post a comment
The Sierra Leone Immigration Department’s Director of Administration and Finance, Mr. Conteh, has projected a revenue of Le29,553,858 (29.5 billion old Leones) for the financial year 2024.
During his presentation at the 2024 budget allocation meeting, Mr. Conteh highlighted that this hefty revenue expectation stems predominantly from the sale of passports, landing visa fees, Presidential Permits, and other related sources.
Mr. Conteh also proposed a budgetary increase from the previous year’s Le7.9 billion to a bold Le21 billion for 2024. This escalation is believed to be necessary to bolster the department’s efficiency.
The Director enumerated five pivotal objectives for the upcoming year. These include stricter surveillance of foreign nationals to guarantee adherence to permit stipulations, minimising fee waivers for visas and resident permits, and urging governmental entities to avoid contracts that exempt foreign firms from certain fees.
He further elaborated on the department’s move to facilitate visas upon arrival at more ‘A’ class crossing points, notably Gbalamuya and Gendema. Furthermore, he underscored the call for royalties’ payment, proposing rates of 6%, 8%, and 10% for passports produced in the years 2021, 2022, and 2023 respectively.
Despite the ambitious revenue forecast, Mr. Conteh spotlighted the manifold challenges beleaguering the Immigration Department. One pressing issue is the over 800 vulnerable border crossing points, where merely 116 personnel are deployed across 17 points, leaving vast areas inadequately monitored. The lack of sufficient staff, coupled with the absence of essential tools and a lingering dependency on paper-based processes for critical functions, further compounds the challenges.
Addressing this paper-reliance issue, Mr. Conteh cited a landmark 2017 deal with third-party firms for passport production, which eventually led to royalties in 2022.
The session rounded off with an interactive Q&A, providing deeper insights into the Immigration Department’s forthcoming plans and the barriers in its path.
