By Tabora Bojang
The Minister for Foreign Affairs, Dr Mamadou Tangara, told lawmakers yesterday that from 2017 to October 2024, the Barrow government issued 3,030 diplomatic passports to individuals including senior government officials, members of parliament, diplomats and presidential and government advisers.
Explaining the criteria for issuance of diplomatic passports, Tangara said applicants require a formal recommendation from their institutions to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the approval or otherwise is done by the Office of the President. He said the president also has the powers to approve the issuance of diplomatic passports to any individual at his discretion.
Asked to share with lawmakers the names of persons issued with diplomatic passports, the minister said: “I think we will have to liaise with the immigration department, they have the database.”
When asked if the law qualifies a single person to acquire two diplomatic passports, Minister Tangara who himself have two, said: “Yes, there is nothing wrong with that. I will give an example of my humble self. I have two diplomatic passports due to the fact that sometimes you travel and another passport is sent to another mission for a visa. They [two diplomatic passports] all bear the same name.”
Asked if ordinary citizens can acquire diplomatic passports, the minister said “the president can use his discretion to order us to issue diplomatic passports to any citizen being Gambian or non-Gambian”.
