NADRA Procured Millions of Smart Cards Without Security Clearance

The National Database and Registration Authority (NADRA) procured 30 million smart cards without obtaining security clearance from government intelligence agencies for the final selected bidder, a national daily has reported.

According to the audit report for the year 2022-23, recently issued by the Auditor General of Pakistan, it was noted that during the scrutiny of the procurement file concerning 30 million smart cards, management was obligated to obtain security clearance from the security agencies of the Government of Pakistan for the final selected bidder, the media outlet claimed.

The auditors requested records related to the security clearance of smart cards from any relevant government intelligence organization through a requisition dated 29.09.2022. However, these records were not provided to the audit team for examination.

The report highlighted that the absence of security clearance indicated that no such clearance was obtained from security agencies. Additionally, it noted that upon reviewing the bids submitted by bidders, the management failed to conduct verification of bidding documents and associated reference letters to ensure their authenticity and accuracy.

NADRA stated that it had told AGP that “in accordance with clause 11.6 of the bidding document, the security clearance of the selected bidder was not mandatory. Additionally, the selected bidder is also the current supplier of smart cards.”

According to the AGP report, the procurement of 30 million smart cards, in violation of Nadra’s smart card procurement Standard Operating Procedures (SoPs), led to an excess procurement of smart cards valued at $4.5 million.

As per the SoPs for the procurement of smart ID cards, it’s essential to maintain a stock level equivalent to six-month consumption to prevent any unforeseen circumstances.

Furthermore, the procurement process for smart cards should commence well in advance to guarantee uninterrupted production operations.

The report highlighted that the procurement was conducted without establishing the re-order quantity and re-order level of stock, as per their own SOPs.

Moreover,  to issue a purchase order equivalent to the re-order quantity of 25,463,830 smart cards, they instead placed an order for 30 million smart cards. Consequently, an excess procurement of 4,546,170 smart cards valued at $4.5 million was made.