Minister of Public Security Tiran Alles defended the government’s decision to outsource the country’s Visa issuance to global Visa processing service VFS Global after the government faced severe criticism for the decision.
Addressing a special media briefing, the Minister said that changes to visa issuance were introduced following complaints and feedback from tourists.
The recent changes have impacted the Visa cost structure, with an additional service charge of USD 18.05 being introduced. Minister Alles assured that there would be no changes to this fee, adding that the service provider would not be able to increase this fee according to the agreement. “We have looked at the charges of other countries and introduced this amount which is lower than charges by other countries,” he said.
Minister Alles said that the government had entered into a contract with the company for a period of 12 years. “Their initial investment was 200 million for the equipment and software,” he said.
Tourism industry stakeholders have pointed out that the USD 75 Visa will now cost USD 100.77 with the new service fee.
The changes were approved both by the Cabinet of Ministers and Parliament, the Minister said, refuting allegations. “No person can say that they were not aware of this,” he said. “The VFS process was presented to the Cabinet on two occasions within three months,” he explained.
Responding to allegations that the local company was not given an opportunity to better the existing system, the Minister said that the company had not attempted to make improvements. “They were given a chance for four years,” he said.
The Minister also said that the new system should also aid in preventing corruption. “We have taken action against corruption in the past,” he added. (Newswire)
