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The Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) has canceled its $1.2 billion biometric national ID project following revelations of financial irregularities. This decision comes in the wake of an investigative report by Bloomberg and Lighthouse, published on August 9, which uncovered how funds meant for the national ID system were exploited to benefit a small group of elites.
According to the investigation, since 2020, nearly 60 companies submitted proposals to the government for implementing the biometric ID system, with the National Office for Population Identification (ONIP) initially estimating the cost at around $360 million. However, when a consortium led by biometrics provider Idemia and its local partner Afritech was selected as the preferred vendor, the project’s cost ballooned to $1.2 billion—more than triple the original estimate.
The report highlighted concerns over “flagrant overpricing” in the proposal from Idemia and Afritech, raising alarms that the contract could potentially turn into a “massive scam.”
Earlier, the World Bank, approached by the DRC’s Ministry of Finance to help finance the national ID system, had declined to fund the project due to the lack of a competitive tendering process.
The DRC has long faced challenges with its national ID system. The last issuance of identity cards took place between 1984 and 1987, marking the transition to plastic cards, but the initiative was never fully realized. The absence of a reliable national ID system has made it increasingly difficult for citizens to open bank accounts, obtain official documents, or register to vote. In the absence of a national ID, many citizens have relied on plastic-covered cards with photos and QR codes issued at special centers as their only form of official identification, as they lack other documents like passports or driver’s licenses.
In response to these challenges, ONIP announced on August 23, 2024, that it plans to relaunch the national ID issuance process soon.
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