Comptroller: Migration officials groundlessly delayed the purchase of 700,000 e-passports

Officials from the National Migration Agency “unnecessarily dragged out the process” of purchasing 700,000 laptops for e-passports and safety sheets causing shortages and suspension of activities. According to the Comptroller General of the Republic, this situation directly affected the continuity of service and led to the fact that users lost international flights.

The Accounts Chamber indicates that on August 11, 2021, the Operations Department migration (DIROP) asked the Office of Administration and Finance (OAF) to start a market study to purchase 700,000 savings books. This is because there were only 463,000 passports in stock by the last week of July 2021 and it was predicted that over 90% would be sold out by early 2022.

Two months later, in October 2021, it was reported that 299,410 passports remained. By 2022, only a balance of 116,806 remained, which was covered until February. Contrary to forecasts, by April the scenario was in short supply.

Problems in the attention of users have been recorded since April and problems began to arrive passports urgently to the same headquarters migration and Jorge Chavez International Airport.

Special Control Report No. 012-2022-2-5996-SCE states that what happened could have been resolved in advance; thus, the alleged responsibility falls on four officials from the Office of Administration and Finance (OAF) and the Supply Division (UA) migration.

“The situation was caused by the actions of said officials who belatedly decided to proceed with the procurement through the conclusion of an open tender, unreasonably extended the period in the course of market surveys and did not take into account what was warned by DIROP in its terms of the user area about the shortage after the end of February 2022 year, a situation that should have been foreseen at that time, ”the controller’s report says.

The officials involved claimed that they sought to promote multiplicity and respond to comments on technical specifications that had already been reviewed by specialized areas, and in doing so, “they brought the whole process back to the stage of justifying requests, which lasted until November 3rd. , 2021 is the date of receipt of quotes for the second time.”

It was only in November 2021 that a decision was made to purchase laptops for e-passports through open competition. This meant an additional period of 190 calendar days for the migration service to use the necessary materials for issuing documents.

Passport Crisis

The Accounts Chamber reminds in its report that the situation with the shortage of e-passports “This was driven by an unexpected surge in demand lifted from April 2021. According to the audit, from 5,830 passports issued in February, it increased to 40,029 in April and so on, even issuing 93,291 passports in November 2021. premature depletion of resources.

“This fact arose in the framework of the general elections (first and second round), the opening of international flights and vaccination against COVID-19 outside the country, therefore migration provided continuous round-the-clock care from June 14 of the same year at his main headquarters, ”says the controller.

The results of a special inspection act were brought to the attention of the National Migration Board in order to start criminal prosecution of officials and civil servants involved in the observed fact.