Fraud Allegations Imperil Congo’s Biometric ID Project

The biometric national ID card project in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DR Congo) is facing possible cancellation due to allegations of financial irregularities.

The $697 million contract, awarded to a consortium including Afritech and the France-based multinational IDEMIA, is under investigation by the Democratic Republic of Congo’s Inspectorate General of Finance (IDF).

The scrutiny follows accusations of overbilling and has led to travel restrictions for Afritech founder Samba Bathily.

The biometric ID initiative, launched last year ahead of national elections, aimed to establish a new population register and a biometric ID system. Prior attempts to issue identity cards in DR Congo date back to between 1984 and 1987, with the process remaining incomplete until this recent effort.

Complications have persisted. The World Bank was initially expected to fund the project in installments, a plan that eventually fell through, causing delays. Despite these setbacks, DR Congo had decided to proceed with the project, selecting IDEMIA from a list of multiple major biometric and digital ID companies, including Thales and Veridos, which competed for the contract to produce next-generation ID cards.

Separately, Pangea, an Israeli firm, secured a $70 million contract in 2022 to provide an automated biometric identification system for law enforcement, while German company Dermalog won a $48 million contract to produce biometric passports for the country.

These developments underscore the ongoing efforts to modernize and secure identity verification in DR Congo, despite the current financial controversies.

Source: Techpoint Africa

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June 21, 2024 — by Tony Bitzionis