Digitalization of Civil Status Registries Takes Center Stage in Cameroon’s African Decentralization Day
August 13, 2024
By Boris Esono Nwenfor
Civil status registration in Cameroon traditionally has been plagued by challenges such as record duplication, loss of documents
BUEA, Cameroon – Cameroon has marked the annual celebration of the African Decentralization and Local Development Day and African Civil Status Registration Day with a renewed focus on digitalising civil status registries. The events, which took place at the National School of Local Administration, NASLA, brought together stakeholders to discuss the progress and challenges of decentralization and the modernization of civil registration systems.
The theme for this year's celebration underscores the importance of modernizing civil status registration to enhance local governance and service delivery. The push for digitalization of civil status records in Cameroon is part of a broader effort to improve the efficiency and transparency of public administration.
Traditionally, civil status registration in Cameroon has been plagued by challenges such as record duplication, loss of documents, and limited access to registration services in rural areas. The introduction of digital platforms aims to address these issues by creating a centralized, secure, and easily accessible database for birth, marriage, and death certificates.
Walter Ndzerem, Regional Head for the National Civil Status Registration Office South West said: “We are talking about digitalization. It is because of the problems that civil status is facing and to make sure that the system is integrated because we want to assure an integrated, complete and holistic system.”
“So, digitalization is coming to remove part of and to integrate the system to be interoperable. That means BUNEC is at the centre of it all and then we have the national identity card, every other identification, statistics and the other sectors may be users of such information. When it is digital, it will solve most if not all of these problems and then connect the country as one.”
The celebration also provided an opportunity for local leaders to exchange best practices and discuss strategies for overcoming the challenges associated with digitalization. Many rural areas still lack the necessary infrastructure to implement digital registration systems fully, and there are concerns about data security and the protection of citizens' privacy.
“The challenges we are having now are one, legal and two, financial challenges. The legal challenge because we are still after elaboration waiting for this document that is modifying the 2011 law to get to the level of parliament so that what we are already having now as the pilot stage exists in the law,” Walter Ndzerem added.
“Secondly, the financial constraints to the implementation of digitalization. You know it is a complete process right from evaluation to training of those staff. You and I know that these sectors and registers do not have computer competence as a requirement to become registers and sectors.
“So, it takes that training and it takes the purchase or procurement of that material because it is of a particular quality, of particular characteristics. If these two are addressed and the willingness or the readiness of civil status registers, we will be digitalizing at 100 per cent.”
As the celebrations concluded, there was a palpable sense of optimism about the future of civil status registration in Cameroon. The digitalization efforts are seen as a crucial step towards achieving a more decentralized, efficient, and transparent public administration, ultimately contributing to the country’s overall development goals. With continued commitment and collaboration, the vision of a fully digitalized civil status registry in Cameroon is within reach.
