Despicable MRP saga

The International Civil Aviation Organization's (ICAO) deadline on Machine Readable Passport (MRP) passes today, and 1.1 million expatriate Bangladeshis have not yet received their travel document. The situation is acute in Malaysia and Saudi Arabia where migrant workers face loss of job and possible deportation without MRP. The level of negligence from the part of IRIS, the company outsourced to produce and distribute MRP in these two countries, is indeed telling. In some cases people who have paid the renewal fees six months ago have not received their passport.  

Many a time in this newspaper we have expressed our doubt as to whether IRIS will be able to meet the ICAO deadline. Allegations of mismanagement and incompetence have also been rife against the company. Now that our worst fear has come to pass, we demand to know why mid-course corrective measures had not been taken against the company despite a number of reports highlighting its failings. Why has the government failed to launch any probe into the alleged irregularities surrounding the IRIS and MRP?

The IRIS must be held to account, and its contract reviewed. We also need to seek more time from the ICAO to deliver MRP to all Bangladeshis living abroad. Revenues sent by the migrant workers are one of the largest earners of foreign remittance for the country. We have to make sure that this flow always remains clean and uninterrupted.