Burkina Faso approves operational framework for WURI digital ID rollout

Burkina Faso’s cabinet on July 30 adopted a decree that spells out the operational and logistical framework for mass registration and issuance of personal identification numbers under the West Africa Unique Identification for Regional Integration and Inclusion (WURI) project.

The adopted legislation sets the pace for a nationwide biometric enrollment exercise which shall be conducted in the near future alongside the issuance of digital ID numbers, according to a statement issued by the presidency after the cabinet meeting.

Burkina Faso is one of six countries implementing the regional ID project which has funding support from the World Bank. It was designed and launched in its first phase in 2018 with the objective of creating a foundational interoperable digital identity system to enhance public service delivery, social inclusion, and regional integration across West Africa.

The project has already been running in the country, but the adoption of the decree lays down the practical and ground-level machinery that is needed to help authorities transition from project planning to actual concrete nationwide deployment.

Speaking after the cabinet meeting, the country’s Digital Transition Minister, Dr. Aminata Zerbo/Sabané, is quoted as saying that the envisaged biometric enrollment exercise will be run by government institutions in a bid to ensure the protection of people’s personal data such as iris, face, and fingerprints biometrics that will be collected.

She added that the move will help expand national identity coverage across the nation and enable citizens to get wider and easier access to public services. The government is calling on citizens to start preparing for the exercise which shall be overseen by committees to be put in place at different administrative levels.

Zerbo/Sabané, meanwhile, also had discussions with a delegation from WURI Niger on July 30 to share experience and chart the path for stronger collaboration.

Togo recently signed a financing agreement with the World Bank for an additional $20 million to expand digital ID coverage under WURI. Benin which also runs a WURI project recently rallied stakeholders to shape the development of a DPI roadmap that will end its current siloed government system.

Countries are increasingly adopting or adjusting legal frameworks as part of efforts to strengthen their national identity and digital public infrastructure efforts. Nigeria is one of the newest examples on the continent.

The legal framework adoption is the latest in a series of moves Burkina Faso has taken to modernize its identity infrastructure. The country, in November last year, introduced a new biometric ID system with President Ibrahim Traoré being the first citizen to receive the credential.

Early this year, the country also launched a cyber surveillance infrastructure project aimed at emboldening its digital sovereignty ambitions.

These moves are in line with those of the two other countries of the Alliance of Sahel States (AES) – Niger and Mali – which are working to cement their digital sovereignty with common digital identity projects after severing ties with the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS).

Article Topics

Africa  |  biometrics  |  Burkina Faso  |  digital ID  |  digital public infrastructure  |  national ID  |  WURI