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5, February 2025
Martin Mbarga Nguele says new National ID system to be out soonest 0
Martin Mbarga Nguele, Delegate General for National Security (DGSN), announced late last week that Cameroon’s new secure identification system will launch “in the coming days,” starting with online pre-enrollment on February 17, 2025.
Speaking at a New Year’s greeting ceremony with his staff in Yaounde, Nguele said the rollout would follow “a progressive schedule.” Physical enrollments at identification offices in all regional capitals will begin on February 24, with national identity cards (CNIs) issued “within a maximum of 48 hours,” he assured, suggesting some applicants might receive them sooner.
This launch follows a setback in 2024. During last year’s ceremony, Nguele announced the new system, authorized by President Paul Biya, would be operational that year. However, it did not materialize, with no official explanation given.
The new system aims to address chronic delays and shortages in CNI issuance. The official timeframe is three months, but some Cameroonians have waited one to four years. Many hold temporary receipts, repeatedly extended. Nguele said processing and production of CNIs in the new format are underway for those with receipts under the old system, provided their records are in order. They should receive their cards by Feb. 17, 2026.
The government contracted the German-Portuguese consortium INCM-Augentic to produce CNIs within 24 hours. An agreement, signed on May 13, 2024, in Yaounde between the DGSN and the consortium, covers financing, concession, development, deployment, and operation of the new system. Fully funded by Augentic, the project includes constructing 68 ultra-modern multifunctional centers across Cameroon’s 10 regions and 58 departments, and renovating 219 existing identification offices.
Nguele also addressed multiple identity problems. On Jan. 10, he launched an operation to resolve these issues, particularly for those with dual identities or lineage discrepancies, inviting affected citizens to submit requests to regional National Security Department delegations. He specified that double identity or fraud cases are handled at the DGSN’s regional delegations and processed by an interministerial committee. Once records are regularized, these citizens can enroll in the new system starting Feb. 17 to receive their CNI in the new format, based on a consolidated identity record.
Source: Sbbc