Report: Democratic Republic of the Congo Cancels Digital Identity Project

The Democratic Republic of the Congo has reportedly canceled what would have been one of the most expensive digital identity projects ever executed.

The country canceled the $1.2 billion project amid warnings of cost overruns and possible funding irregularities, Bloomberg reported Tuesday (Sept. 3).

Richard Ilunga, director general of the Democratic Republic of the Congo’s National Office for Population Identification (ONIP), told Bloomberg that the project was canceled on Aug. 12 following a meeting of government officials and representatives of the companies that were to have built the project: French biometrics firm Idemia and an intermediary called Afritech.

Ilunga did not give a reason for the cancellation of the contract, according to the report.

The report said the meeting was held three days after an Aug. 9 Bloomberg report that said the World Bank declined to finance the project because there hadn’t been a competitive tendering process; civic servants in ONIP said there were “worrying elements” in the companies’ proposal; and the Democratic Republic of the Congo’s Inspectorate General of Finance raised concerns about the cost and proposed financing system for the project.

In its Tuesday report, Bloomberg said Idemia confirmed the cancelation of the project but said it couldn’t answer questions about financing because of its contract with Afritech. Afritech CEO Samba Bathily didn’t respond to Bloomberg’s questions, per the report.

The Democratic Republic of the Congo had hoped to implement a biometric identity system because the country currently has no national ID system, per the report. The lack of such a system makes it more difficult for citizens to open bank accounts and perform other tasks.

Biometric authentication — which uses fingerprints, facial features or iris patterns — is one of the latest frontiers in the ongoing evolution of payments, PYMNTS reported in May.

In another application of the technology, IDEMIA Public Security North America and My Family ID said in August that they partnered to use IDEMIA’s biometric-based solutions to help families capture a photo, fingerprints or other identification information for their children for use in case a child or other family member ever goes missing.

In July, IDEMIA said it teamed up with Samsung to bring mobile IDs to Iowa, allowing the state’s residents to store their mobile ID in their Samsung Wallet.