232news –
By Thomas Dixon
Sierra Leoneans have been wondering how voter identification cards that were meant to be superb after the Electoral Commission of Sierra Leone or ECSL spent over 1.4 million Dollars to get the ID Cards printed turned out sub-standard.
The international bidding that was tendered by ECSL stated that they were looking for an international company with a local partner that will do a coloured and standard voter identification card that will be used for the June 23 elections.
This was further confirmed by Chief Electoral Commission Mohamed Konneh in a press conference
“The commission paid for coloured and standard voters ID Cards, “Konneh maintained
SALONE TIMES can authoritatively confirm that the local company that was involved in printing a substandard Voters Identification card is a company called CONSTRAT SL Ltd owned by a Lebanese called Nour Hashim.
Experts on Printing told SALONE TIMES that the Voters’ ID cards were printed like that because the printers used Lasser Jet instead of 3D Colour Jet Printing.
According to the expert, colour Jet is a 3D printing and additive manufacturing technology with two main components: core material and binder.
“The core material is spread in thin layers over the build platform with a roller. After each layer is spread, the color binder is selectively jetted from inkjet print heads, causing the core to solidify. The build platform lowers to allow every subsequent layer to be spread and printed, resulting in a full-color three-dimensional model,” the experts said.
The expert explained that Laser printing is an electrostatic digital printing process and it produces high-quality text and graphics by repeatedly passing a laser beam back and forth over a negatively charged cylinder called a “drum” to define a differentially charged image.
“Of course, Lesser Jet is far cheaper than the CJP which I think should have been used to print this ID Card,” the expert noted.
Credible sources within the ECSL confirmed that there were better companies who bided to print very good IDs for much cheaper rates but they don’t know why Constract and their partner were chosen.
SALONE TIMES sent a message to Nour Hashim to get his own side but he could not respond
Details on how the company gets the contract, its link with people in the Presidency, and a possible conflict of interest will be revealed in subsequent publications.
