Cameroon is making a strong push towards digitizing services for its citizens. As a result, the biometric identity card has become crucial for accessing these services.

Cameroon and German-Portuguese consortium INCM-Augentic have partnered for a new secure identification system. According to reports by national radio CRTV, on May 13, Cameroon's Delegate General for National Security (DGSN), Martin Mbarga Nguele, signed a contract in that regard with Labinot Carreti, CEO of INCM-Augentic. Financial details were not disclosed, but Augentic will reportedly finance the turnkey project.

This project includes the construction of 68 state-of-the-art multifunctional centers across Cameroon's 10 regions and 58 departments. Additionally, it involves the renovation of 219 existing identification stations to modernize them. The new identification system will introduce an application for scheduling appointments online and will ensure widespread availability throughout the country, stated Labinot Carreti. "We will also ensure the dispatch of cards through all identification stations across the Cameroonian territory," he added. This system is expected to enable the issuance of the National Identity Card (CNI) within 48 hours of submitting the application, by the end of 2024.

On December 29, 2023, Martin Mbarga Nguele announced that the Head of State authorized the establishment of this new system, including an online pre-enrollment platform. Three autonomous CNI production centers will be built in Yaoundé (Centre), Douala (Littoral), and Garoua (North), as well as modern enrollment centers in each regional capital, he explained. He affirmed that this new system would be operational this year, based on assurances given during the New Year's greetings presentation on January 24. It will be similar to the system implemented for biometric passports, for which a contract worth XAF131 billion (200 million euros) was awarded to INCM-Augentic.

Increase in Costs

This contract mandated the consortium to build and operate the infrastructure. According to the German embassy in Cameroon, the company invested 30 million euros in constructing the national passport production center. The investments made by the providers justify the increase in the cost of the stamp, which rose from XAF75,000 to 110,000, stated the Minister of Finance, Louis Paul Motaze, at the time. According to the head of the Cameroonian Police, the investment made by the providers will justify an increase in the CNI cost, whose current issuance fee is XAF2,800.

This initiative comes as some citizens have been waiting for a year or even years to obtain their CNI, thus exceeding the regulatory three-month waiting period. This situation led to a social media campaign under the slogan "Je veux ma CNI (I want my ID card)." The government attributed these delays to the need to secure the Cameroonian identity, in a context where frauds could compromise its reliability. In addition to the CNI, other identity documents such as residence cards, resident cards, refugee cards, police professional cards, and national disability cards will also be produced within 48 hours.

Patricia Ngo Ngouem