40 min
Cameroon: when a state demands ID it doesn’t issue (ep. 10) ID16.9 Podcast
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- Technology
We take an in-depth look at life without ID in an extreme setting: Cameroon. Extreme because its biometric national identity card (CNI) is required for everything in life, from bank accounts, to internal travel to being able to acquire any other credentials such as driving licenses. Extreme because it is undergoing a humanitarian crisis in its English-speaking region.
Millions of people are living without this all-powerful ID. A recent contract has vastly accelerated passport production, but many are waiting years for their ID cards.
We hear from reporter Ayang Macdonald in Yaoundé who has been speaking to people affected by a lack of ID in multiple ways. He explains the struggle to get the ID and life without it, or trying to get by for years with the paper receipt given on application.
Where there is demand, services appear. Officials suggest payments to speed along an application. Well connected individuals set themselves up as agents.
Paul Biya has been president since 1982 meaning the majority of the population has known nothing else, but millions are without the ID to vote for change.
Carrying the ID is a legal requirement, giving authorities an easy option for detaining an individual, especially if he or she is protesting against not having national ID. Cameroonians are growing tired of the situation and are trying to pressure the government into discussing plans to solve the deadlock.
Find out more about the ID16.9 Podcast and the importance of legal identity at https://id169.com
Produced and hosted by Frank Hersey at Biometric Update https://www.biometricupdate.com
We take an in-depth look at life without ID in an extreme setting: Cameroon. Extreme because its biometric national identity card (CNI) is required for everything in life, from bank accounts, to internal travel to being able to acquire any other credentials such as driving licenses. Extreme because it is undergoing a humanitarian crisis in its English-speaking region.
Millions of people are living without this all-powerful ID. A recent contract has vastly accelerated passport production, but many are waiting years for their ID cards.
We hear from reporter Ayang Macdonald in Yaoundé who has been speaking to people affected by a lack of ID in multiple ways. He explains the struggle to get the ID and life without it, or trying to get by for years with the paper receipt given on application.
Where there is demand, services appear. Officials suggest payments to speed along an application. Well connected individuals set themselves up as agents.
Paul Biya has been president since 1982 meaning the majority of the population has known nothing else, but millions are without the ID to vote for change.
Carrying the ID is a legal requirement, giving authorities an easy option for detaining an individual, especially if he or she is protesting against not having national ID. Cameroonians are growing tired of the situation and are trying to pressure the government into discussing plans to solve the deadlock.
Find out more about the ID16.9 Podcast and the importance of legal identity at https://id169.com
Produced and hosted by Frank Hersey at Biometric Update https://www.biometricupdate.com
40 min