By Ghana News 
A major contractual dispute is brewing over the National Democratic Congress administration planned rollout of a new electronic visa system.
Existing state contractor TGN Digital Security Ghana Limited has formally cautioned President John Dramani Mahama that proceeding with the parallel project could expose the country to massive financial liabilities and crippling judgment debts.
The growing legal standoff centers on claims that the state is about to bypass a valid ten-year Public-Private Partnership agreement covering the automation of national visa processing services.
TGN Digital Security Ghana Limited and its Zurich-based partner, Orell Füssli Security Printing Switzerland Limited, maintain that their current contract is fully active, legal, and un-terminated. The joint venture partners point out that their long-term agreement was duly approved by Cabinet, authorized by the Public Procurement Authority, and formally ratified by Parliament.
The corporate partners sent strongly worded correspondence to Foreign Affairs Minister Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa on May 6 2026. The documents explicitly state that the current agreement, originally signed on February 20 2020, already covers online visa applications, global electronic payment integration, and digital travel authorization architecture. The initial support period for the contract runs through 2027, featuring an integrated provision for an automatic five-year extension.
The firm warns that introducing a parallel third-party system constitutes a material breach and a constructive repudiation of a binding sovereign contract. According to the company, core components of this exact digital ecosystem are already fully operational. Completed deployments include centralized visa issuance databases at the Ghana Immigration Service headquarters, public key infrastructure systems hosted by the National Information Technology Agency, and verification terminals at the Kotoka International Airport. The company has already rolled out these biometric tools across more than forty Ghanaian diplomatic missions worldwide.
In a detailed briefing memorandum sent directly to Chief of Staff Julius Debrah, the company urged the Presidency to halt the upcoming launch to allow for an inter-agency technical and contractual review. The Swiss partner, Orell Füssli, carries significant international weight as a publicly traded security print firm on the Swiss Stock Exchange, with the Swiss National Bank holding the position of its largest institutional shareholder. The firm argues that bypassing a contract of this magnitude severely damages the international reputation for respecting long-term foreign direct investments.
Furthermore, serious administrative allegations have surfaced regarding the procurement of the new platform. Reports claim that Presidential Executive Secretary Callistus Mahama allegedly directed the Foreign Affairs Ministry to hand the new contract to Rock Africa, a corporate entity reportedly linked to businessman Francis Gavor. Despite multiple legal notifications delivered to the Presidency, state officials have yet to issue a formal public response to the specific concerns raised by the current contractors.
The current border dispute intersects with the broader strategy to expand the Advance Passenger Information and Passenger Name Records platform launched in August 2025. A previous presidential directive ordered the Ministries of Interior and Transport to collaborate with API-PNR contractors to scale up digital border management across land and sea checkpoints.
However, trying to accelerate digital border security by piling a new platform on top of an active ten-year contract is a logical misstep that could cost taxpayers millions. While modernizing immigration protocols is an excellent economic objective, the state must navigate its existing legal obligations with absolute precision.
TGN and Orell Füssli have publicly stated their total willingness to scale, upgrade, and enhance the current infrastructure through structured institutional engagement. Taking the time to execute a transparent contractual review is the smartest path forward to ensure that Ghana preserves its international reputation as a safe, law-abiding destination for global investment.
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Source: ghananewspage.com