He explained the reasons for delay in commencing this process, saying: “The software we currently have is built by our local expertise. This means we have to have a new server again, which we have now gotten. We have it fixed, and it is compatible with the software.”
“But we didn't start printing because we wanted to migrate all the data from the old server to the new server. So that is what we have been doing since last week,” he said.
“This data is too much. It is in excess of about a million records. Imagine, all the passports that were issued since 2002 are many, so we are migrating this data from the old server to the new server, and it proved to be a bit slow. That is why we didn't start printing,” he explained.
“But I'm happy to announce, coincidentally, we are starting printing today.”
The backlog that we have received when the system went down is a bit much, and therefore, we will prioritise that and start printing all those backlogs before we now start receiving again.
All the MRP passports are for Gambians in the Diaspora.
He clarified that the MRP passports are only for Gambians in the Diaspora. “We don't issue MRP to the locals because we advise that all locals get the biometric passport, so the MRP is strictly for people in the Diaspora,” he emphasised.
“Currently, we have about 1,000 applications since it broke down and before it broke down, there was no backlog. Yes, we don't have backlogs in the MRP system.”
“The MRP passport has never been operated by any company. De La Rue built the system and immediately transferred it. The system is operated 100% by the Gambia Immigration Department since its inception.”
“The only support we had from De La Rue was some troubleshooting, trainings, and technical support, but that does not mean that they operated the system.
Commissioner Gassama, also explained that they were advised to change the entire system by HID who took over De La Rue. “When we started experiencing some issues and were not in operation, we invite the HID who are now taking over the operations of De La Rue to do an assessment of the entire system and advice. But what they have advised is to entirely do away with this particular system and build a whole new system.
“And building a new system was going to cost about D100 million and this we thought was too much. That’s when we decided to look in-country, for local expertise in order to work on the system and see within the existing infrastructure whether they'll be able to build software that is compatible with the books that we procure from HID at a much more lower cost.”
“And we are successful in this. We had local expertise who came and built a software within the existing infrastructure, meaning we are not doing away with the solution. It's been rescued. The old system has been rescued and ready for operation.
