The issuance of national identity cards (NIC) in 48 hours could be operational in 2024. At least this is what the general delegate for National Security (DGSN), Martin Mbarga Nguele, suggested during a the presentation of New Year’s greetings in his institution on January 24 in Yaoundé.
During the ceremony, the police boss declared that this project is among the priorities of the DGSN this year. On December 29, Martin Mbarga Nguele announced that the Head of State had authorized the establishment of a new system for issuing the NIC which should integrate an online pre-enlistment platform. This should be similar to what has been put in place for biometric passports. To this end, he explained, three autonomous NIC production centers will be built in Yaoundé (Center), Douala (Littoral) and Garoua (North). Modern enlistment centers with a minimum of 15 enlistment posts will also be built in each regional capital.
While the regulatory waiting period is three months, some people have been waiting in vain for one, two, or even four years for the NIC to be issued to them. This situation led to a demand campaign on social networks around the slogan “I want my NIC”. The government had notably attributed these dysfunctions to “the need for the State to secure Cameroonian identity, in a context where multifaceted fraud is likely to taint it”. According to the DGSN, the establishment of the new NIC delivery system will make it possible to resolve the identification problems currently encountered by many Cameroonians.