The Government of Cameroon has announced plans to improve the process of producing a National ID card in the country. The announcement was made by the Secretary General at the Presidency of the Republic, Ferdinand Ngoh Ngoh while inaugurating the ultramodern center for the production of Passports in the city capital, Yaounde.
Getting a National ID card in Cameroon, whether new or in case of loss, theft or damage will soon seize from being a nightmare. This comes after the Government, through the Minister of State, Secretary General at the Presidency of the Republic, Ferdinand Ngo Ngo hinted on the speeding up of the production process of this important document.
Ferdinand Ngo Ngo was speaking during the official launch of the country’s ultramodern National Center for the production of Biometric Passports in Yaounde earlier this week. The member of Government said that after the speeding up of the passport production process –now available in not more than 48 hours, the National ID card is next in line.
To a Cameroonian, a national identity card is like the password to an e-mail account. They are valid for 10 years and without one, the person is in for big trouble – especially when travelling around the country and moving at night.
Law No. 90-42 of 19 December 1990 says “whoever does not possess a national identity card shall be punished with imprisonment for from three months to one year or with a fine of 50,000 to 100,000 francs CFA or with both such imprisonment and fine”. Ironically, the process of getting this indispensable document has been one of the most frustrating and stressful experiences for Cameroonians.
After spending the whole day at a Police station due to the long queue, the applicant is not sure to get a temporal document. It is common to spend days waiting for public officials to sign and issue the document which is valid only for three months. The temporary document can be used until the permanent ID is printed. But it has limitations. For instance, a holder cannot use it to do international bank transactions or even for hefty national transactions. As if that was not enough, files often go missing, forcing many to start the tedious bureaucratic process all over.
In a bit to fight against identity theft and document fraud, the Government digitized the identification system in the country in 2016. Many thought this could equally help in reducing the strenuous process of getting the document- but it was never so. Nothing in the long process really changed. They are usually printed after three months, though some may take up to six months and even a year, and are collected from the police station where they were applied for.
One Yaounde resident who chose to remain anonymous told Agence Cameroun Presse she almost celebrated when she finally got her ‘laissé passer’. The news of the improvement of the production of ID cards has thus been received with much relief and great expectancy.
Ariane Foguem
