Burundi Eco – Upward revision of the price of equipment used in the civil registry – 2024-07-26 22:05:21 – 2024-07-26 22:05:23 – 2024-07-26 22:07:36 – 2024-07-26 22:09:26

The cost of equipment used in the Civil Registry increased especially in 2023 and 2024. This at a time when it had been stable since 2017 to 2022. This could lead to an increase in the cost of administrative documents. However, the security of documents is not guaranteed, hence the digitalization of civil registry services is necessary.

The Ministry of the Interior has recently revised upwards the prices of equipment used in the Civil Registry. The reason given is the increase in the prices of raw materials used for their manufacture. This is stated in the press release of July 19, 2024 published by this ministry. As shown in this press release, provincial governors are requested to inform municipal administrators about this price change.

The table below shows the price evolution.

Evolution of prices of certain civil status equipment from 2017 to 2024

It is likely that other administrative documents, such as certificates of various categories will also see their prices increase in the municipalities. The example is that of the municipal administration of Bukinanyana in the province of Cibitoke which has already adjusted the prices of documents issued by the Civil Registry. These prices have doubled except for the certificate of residence.

The National Identity Card (CNI) is now priced at 1,000 BIF. Certificates such as civil status, birth, full identity, marriage, and family composition are each set at 2,000 BIF. The residence certificate now costs 3,000 BIF.

The digitalization of civil status services is worth its weight in gold

Burundi’s civil registration system has several shortcomings, namely: fraud in civil status documents which can lead to cases of falsification or manipulation of documents, poor record keeping which can lead to loss of data or deterioration of essential documents, poorly maintained records making it difficult for citizens and administrative authorities to access crucial information. These shortcomings highlight the need to improve and modernize the civil registration system to ensure efficient, secure and transparent management of vital documents for all citizens.

The Ministry of the Interior, Community Development and Public Security (MIDCSP) had started a project to digitalize civil status services. In September 2021, the said ministry organized a national workshop to validate the feasibility study for the modernization and computerization of the civil status system in Burundi.

“The digitalization of civil status represents a major step forward in modernizing public administration, improving services to citizens and supporting long-term socio-economic development,” said the Minister responsible for the Interior at the time during this workshop.

And to add: “digitalization promises to solve several problems and bring many significant advantages, namely: planning development projects by providing precise and up-to-date statistics, managing population growth, guiding educational and health programs, simplified access to civil status documents which contributes to strengthening transparency and trust in public institutions, …”.