GIS Debunks $240m E-Gate Price Tag
The Ghana Immigration Service (GIS) has moved to debunk allegations that the newly deployed E-Gate system at Kotoka International Airport (KIA) came with a hefty price tag of $240 million.
According to the GIS, the actual cost of the E-Gate system is significantly lower, at $1.7 million. This is part of a larger integrated border management system, known as "Immigration 360," which costs $94.6 million.
Minority Chief Whip, Governs Kwame Agbodza, in an interview, slammed the government's handling of the E-Gate system contract at Kotoka International Airport, labeling it a blatant case of "create, loot, and share"
The GIS clarified in a statement released on Thursday, December 19, that the $240 million figure circulating on social media includes additional costs such as periodic upgrades and maintenance over a 10-year period. The total cost, including VAT and other taxes, comes out to $274 million.
“The Ghana Immigration Service is implementing a new integrated border management system known as the ‘Immigration 360’. The system seeks to fully automate passenger processing and data management at all the forty-eight (48) approved entry/exit points to Ghana and other operational commands. The new system seeks to address challenges with sovereignty, interoperability, and other inadequacies associated with the existing systems installed at twelve (12) approved borders.
“The total cost of the new ‘Immigration 360’ border management system is $94.6 million (i.e., $94,664,374.57). As part of Phase One (1) of the project, the GIS is installing border management systems, including an e-Gate component at the KIA, which is geared at enhancing smooth passenger clearance and processing. This whole component for the KIA, comprising the immigration control systems and the e-gates, cost $5.5 million (i.e., $5,548,860.89).
“The e-Gate system alone (comprising 15 units of e-Gates with accessories), which forms part of the border management system being installed at KIA, costs $1.7 million (i.e., $1,760,479.80),” it stated.
“The $240 million includes two (2) periodic wholesale upgrades of the critical components of the system and the cost of maintenance and licenses over the 10-year cycle of the project. The first upgrade type is in three (3) replacement cycles of key components of the system. The second upgrade type is two (2) 5-year upgrade cycles within ten (10) years to replace major components of the technical infrastructure. This is to ensure a refresh of the system at all times and to ensure the handback of a brand-new system at the end of the ten-year period,'' portions of the statement read.
Read the full statement from GIS in the link below.
Source: Lead News Online
