The formal identification of citizens has become a prerequisite for a country’s socio-economic development and an imperative in the fight against fraud, cybercrime and the falsification of administrative or civil documents. Niger has joined this dynamic to formally identify its entire population. To this end, the government has launched a project to create an agency dedicated to the registration and identification of all citizens.
It is in this context that our experts have conducted a feasibility study for the creation and implementation of this agency: l’Agence Nationale d’Enregistrement et d’Identification (the Agency Dedicated to the Registration and Identification of Natural Persons, or ANEI).
Establishing the ANEI Pour la mise en place d’une ANEI
The objective of this six-month study was to prepare for the establishment of this new administrative entity, the ANEI (Agency dedicated to the registration and identification of individuals), dedicated to providing these identification services for natural persons as well as their registration to other administrations and civil society actors. The Agency is an effort to harmonize the practices concerning identification and registration in Niger.
This study included the following:
- The definition of the ANEI's missions and, in particular, its interactions with the different administrations on the one hand and with users on the other hand for the issuance of identity documents and civil status registration coupled with the identification of individuals
- The definition of the organization of the Agency, its governance and the human resources to be implemented
- The drafting of administrative, operational and control procedures necessary for the exercise of its mission
- The preparation of the legal framework, including the drafting of the bills and decrees,both establishing the Agency and relating to the Unique National Identifier
- A five-year action plan detailing a schedule of the various activities to be carried out along the following three axes:
- Strengthening the legal framework
- Establishing the basic identification system
- Promoting access to services via the usual identification documents
The system proposed by Sofrecom's teams, taking into account the specific local context, included the following:
- The sharing and active listening of all the stakeholders in the project in order to best promote their adhesion to the project and share the objectives, methodology and expected results of the study
- An inventory of the full identification process in Niger: the co-construction of a shared vision of ANEI with the different stakeholders
- The enrichment of the first deliverables with the participation of representatives of the different regions of Niger as well as the technical committee
- The finalization of the texts under the supervision of the technical committee
- A national workshop for the restitution and validation of this project in full
In conclusion, Sofrecom was able to assist the government of Niger in setting up this new administrative entity. The adopted approach allowed us to meet the expectations of all the stakeholders while taking into account the legal, organizational, operational and technical stakes to quickly establish this new organization in the end.
Our experts were able to bring their know-how and share their expertise to meet the specific needs of Niger so that its government could readily take advantage of the contributions of digital technology and promote its use among all citizens and businesses.
Karim Bensaid, Consultant et architecte en technologies de l'information
Philippe Tardieu, Responsable e-gov
