New Biometric Passports : Over 3,000 Abandoned After Production

Startling statistics from the General Delegation for National Security (GDNS) in Yaounde  have revealed that barely two months into the production of the new Biometric Passports, some 3,000 passports are already stocked at the National Centre for the Production of Passports in Yaounde pending collection. During a press visit to the National Centre for the Production of Passports and the National Centre for the Production of Identity Cards and Other Identification Documents in Yaounde, authorities in the different production units called on Cameroonians to come and withdraw their personal documents free of charge after production.
Yesterday when pressmen visited the National Centre for the Production of Passports at the Etoudi neighbourhood in Yaounde, over 100 people were seen going through the physical enrolment procedure, prelude to obtaining a passport within 48 hours. The enthusiasm many displayed was visible on their faces. But sources at the production centre revealed that many people do not complete the procedure to obtain a passport. At the moment, some 3,000 new biometric passports are laying at the centre waiting for owners. These passports were supposed to be collected by the owners 48 hours after production. Although authorities at the centre have informed the different owners about the availability of their passports, the call seems to have fallen on deaf ears.   
It is the same scenario at the National Identity Cards and other Identification Documents Centres. Here, it is also said that over 220,000 Identity Cards (IDs) belonging to Cameroonians have been abandoned in various Police Stations nationwide. Some of them have even expired while in these different police identification stations. At the 10th District Police Station in Bastos, Yaounde, the Senior Superintendent of Police, Amogo Onana Micheline Danielle epse Medjo said some 3,400 old IDs h...