Guyana Finally Moves Towards Machine Readable Passports

UNCLAS GEORGETOWN 000147

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

CA/FPP - LARA HARRIS
INL/HSTC - MARC GORELICK
DHS - Mohamed Yousuf/JFK
SOUTHCOM ALSO FOR POLAD

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: CVIS SNAR SMIG ASEC KFRD KCRM GY
SUBJECT: Guyana Finally Moves Towards Machine Readable Passports



1. (SBU) SUMMARY: After more than ten years of delays, Guyana will
finally begin issuing machine-readable passports (MRPs) this summer.
After having bid on the project eleven years ago, Canadian Bank Note
(CBN) was awarded the contract in December 2006. The company says
that they will be ready to begin issuing MRPs within six months
although there are several issues still to be resolved with the GOG.
Although CBN believes that the GOG will be minimally ready to begin
issuing the MRPs in the near future, a senior company representative
expressed frustration with his interaction with GOG. END SUMMARY


2. (SBU) A Senior Regional Director with CBN contacted the embassy
to offer a briefing on the upcoming release of the Guyanese CBP. The
representative told RSO and Consular Chief that he had been dealing
with the GOG for eleven years, since CBN first placed their bid on
the project. He stated that the company, which has handled MRP
contracts in countries throughout Caricom, with the exception of the
Bahamas and Barbados, had almost given up on the GOG ever deciding
to award the MRP contract. Out of the blue, the GOG informed the
company in December that they had won the bid. The GOG also made a
sizeable down payment on the contract, larger, in fact, than the
company anticipated and larger than some other countries in the
region have made.


3. (SBU) While pleased to have been finally awarded the contract,
CBN has experienced frustration in working with the GOG. When
awarded the contract, CBN informed the GOG that they should
immediately begin a press campaign to inform the public that the
non-MRPs would be invalid as of December 28, 2009, to be ICAO
compliant. With the large numbers of Guyanese living abroad, getting
the word out that they will need to apply for new passports in the
next two years will be a significant undertaking. To date, the GOG
has made no plans to educate the public on the issue. CBN also
reported that the GOG budget for MRP implementation and issuance was
well below that of other CARICOM countries, which translates into
less secure passports. The MRPs will have several security features,
including the biodata and photo being printed on the first page of
the passport rather than the inside cover, but will have a less
secure laminate than some other CARICOM MRPs and no biometric
features. Although CBN has discussed with the GOG the need to raise
the cost of a passport to at least a cost-recovery level, the GOG
remains firm in their belief that every individual has the right to
a passport. (NOTE: A Guyanese passport currently costs US$5. With
such a low fee, Guyanese carry their passport as a form of
identification. Post frequently sees applicants who have obtained
new passports to cover up previous visa refusals, overstays in the
US, name changes, and other information they do not want revealed.
END NOTE)


4. (SBU) The Guyanese Immigration Office is the subject of frequent
scandals and dismissals. Less than a year ago, the Director
Immigration was transferred after 100 blank Guyanese passports went
missing from the Immigration Office. CBN's contract with the GOG
includes an extensive accountability feature, electronically
tracking passport books and applications throughout processing.
However, passport security is only as good as the civil documents
used to confirm identity and every aspect of Guyana's civil registry
and documents is exploited by Guyanese who are attempting to assume
or conceal an identity. CBN stated that they had attempted to
include a review and upgrade of the civil registry as part of the
MRP package, but GOG was not interested. The current Immigration
Office building is an old, wooden structure with inadequate air
conditioning and electrical wiring. CBN has made upgrading the
building a priority for the MRP installation but has gotten only
minimal commitments from the GOG to do their share.


5. (SBU) Part of the MRP plan is to connect immigration at the
international airport to integrated watchlists, including Interpol.
(NOTE: Currently, immigration at the airport has only a paper
watchlist, which is not kept at the immigration booths, and it,
therefore, rarely checked. END NOTE) If controls are instituted to
ensure that officials actually check the database, the watchlist
will obviously aid Guyanese border security. CBN noted that one of
the GOG's initial requests was that CBN install MRP scanners at
special booths at the airport prior to CWC. While CBN complied, they
noted that the scanners are for show only, since they do not connect
to anything. CBN has offered to train the Consular Section on the
MRP's security features once production is underway.

ROBINSON