This is the aim of the mission that a delegation from Bunec led by its CEO Alexandre Marie YOMO has just carried out in Seoul, South Korea. And to talk about it, we handed him our microphone.
L'Afrique en Eveil: Mr. Director General of Bunec, Alexandre Marie Yomo hello, does the specter of ghost children still hover so recklessly over Cameroon?
Alexandre Marie YOMO: Hello, the phenomenon of ghost children or invisible children constitutes those who do not have birth certificates, it is a regrettable phenomenon. It exists in the world as we see here in Cameroon. UNICEF counts nearly 237 million children without birth certificates across the world. Here in the country, nearly a million children will be recorded in 2024 without birth certificates, yet they are already in the school system. This is very regrettable because they do not enjoy fundamental rights, identity rights, rights to basic social services. To reverse the trend, the government of the republic has initiated actions carried out by Minddevel to ensure the massive registration of populations. There is also an ongoing initiative launched by Minedub last week to catch up 80 thousand children at the end of primary school.
AEE: the phenomenon of trafficking in civil status documents in sport and the anarchic issuance of documents poses the problem of Cameroonian nationality everywhere else, are we reluctantly moving towards individuals of dynamic age in time and space, a new type of citizen worse than ghost children?
AMY: Trafficking in birth certificates and dynamic age are realities in our country. I must say that this documentary fraud is due to the fact that civil status continues to be manual. Actions are being taken by the government to digitize Cameroon's civil status.
AEE : in a context where Cameroon intends to digitize civil status documents, where are we with this processor?
AMY: Cameroon has 432 civil status centers, 68 of which are housed in diplomatic missions and consular chambers. The challenge is to digitize all these centers and to date only 42 centers are already operational, these are mainly the centers of Yaoundé, Wouri in the Littoral, 8 in the Far North and around twenty across the country with Korean cooperation. Today, Cameroon is in talks with the World Bank to ensure the complete digitalization of the main civil registration centers.
AEE: how can we not mention the competence of civil status officers which is sometimes questionable, have the services experienced an improvement with proper documentation?
AMY: you know that the various evaluations have made it possible to identify the need for training of actors and civil status personnel (officers and secretaries). Since the establishment of Bunec in 2016, nearly 12 thousand personnel (officers and secretaries) have already been trained. The action must continue each year and at the end of each training course, learners receive educational documents which should enable them to continue to adopt the civil status standard.
AEE : you have returned from South Korea where you led a Cameroonian delegation as part of a partnership to share experiences. Tell us, could Korean expertise help you in the major digitization project?
AMY: the choice of South Korea is not accidental, this country is a reference in digital registration in matters of civil status. Last week, a Cameroonian delegation went to Seoul to share successes and experiences in the field with South Korea. We come away amazed with convincing results which are the extension of the digitalization of civil status in Cameroon through Korean support and the possibilities of partnership between the smart cities of South Korea and those here. We took advantage of this outing to present our current situation of digitalization in our country.
AEE :thank you Mr. Director General of Bunec
AMY: It’s me who thanks you for your interest in our activities.
Interview decrypted by Clément Noumsi
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