A huge contract for the production of biometric national ID cards in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DR Congo) is facing the risk of being revoked following allegations of irregularities.
Details
The $697 Million project is currently being probed by the country’s Inspectorate General of Finance (IDF) and reports say that authorities are likely to cancel the contract.
Zoom In
The contract was awarded to a consortium made up of local firm Afritech and French identity giant Idemia. The contract has since been under scrutiny and there have been calls for the contract to be re-negotiated due to “overbilling”.
Digging Deeper
There have been questions about issues related to financial arrangements for the project for which the contracting consortium is expected to pay out roughly $593 million.
Zoom Out
According to reports, the owner of Afritech, Samba Bathily, is reported to have been banned from traveling out of DR Congo territory as his business entities are being investigated by state authorities.
Source: Biometrics Update
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