Burkina Faso: Members of Legislative Assembly Vote on Law on Unique Electronic Identification of Individuals.

By Sougrinoma Inocent ILBOUDO, Burkina Faso

Members of the Transitional Legislative Assembly Transition examined and adopted, on Friday in Ouagadougou, the drafted law on the unique electronic identification of the physical person to enable Burkina Faso to fight against identity fraud.

The Commission for General Institutional Affairs and Human Rights (CAGIDH) indicated that the adoption of this law would provide the country with a legal and institutional framework for the basic electronic unique identification of the physical person, as well as an accessible, robust and interoperable identification system.

According to Aminata Zerbo/Sabané, Minister in charge of the digital transition, this law will contribute to a better control of the population for better planning of development projects and programs.

She indicated that the government intends to enroll at least 80% of the population by 2026.

The law on the unique electronic identification of physical persons is implemented through the Wuri project, whose overall objective is to provide at least 85% of the population of Burkina Faso with a unique proof of identity recognized by the government, facilitating their access to services.

The cost of implementing the unique identification system is more than 48 billion FCFA, made up of a grant of more than 15 billion FCFA, a loan of more than 30 billion FCFA and a national counterpart of more than 2 billion FCFA, according to project managers.

According to CAGIDH, unique identification does not replace other existing identification systems or means, which remain valid.

As a reminder, electronic unique identification of a physical person is a means of ensuring the uniqueness of the person by considering biometrics (fingerprints or iris, or both) combined with biographical data.

It is intended to be issued to any natural person in Burkina Faso, regardless of nationality, legal status, residence or age.