MASTERFUL SPEECH BY PRESIDENT FELIX TSHISEKEDI AT THE LAUNCH OF DIGITAL IDENTITY

Mr. President of the Court of Auditors, Honorable Deputies and Senators, Ladies and Gentlemen members of the government, heads of diplomatic missions and representatives of UN system organizations, representatives of technical and financial partners, heads of state institutions and public services, distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen, I am particularly honored to preside today over the official launch ceremony of the RDC Pass, the national digital identification system of the Democratic Republic of Congo. This launch marks a major step in building a more modern, efficient, accessible, and citizen-oriented state. By renewing its trust in me, the Congolese people have given me the responsibility to pursue the great commitments of my second five-year term, notably improving public services, simplifying administrative procedures, including citizens, and creating new opportunities for our youth. The RDC Pass is fully in line with this trajectory. It constitutes a concrete advance toward a more integrated administration, better coordination of public services, more reliable citizen identification, and a value-creating digital economy. It is not an isolated reform but an essential milestone in our ambition to make the Democratic Republic of Congo a digital, sovereign, connected, and innovative nation by 2030. Through this transformation, digital technology becomes for our country an instrument of sovereignty, good governance, transparency, and improvement of the daily lives of our citizens. Behind a simple formula—one citizen, one identifier, one connected DRC—lies a strong national ambition: to build a state capable of better identifying, better serving, better protecting, and better including. However, I want to be clear to avoid any confusion. The RDC Pass is not a national identity card. It does not replace it nor substitute for the competent institutions or the official documents provided by our laws and regulations. The RDC Pass is a digital identifier, a free and secure personal access key intended to progressively allow citizens to access the state's digital public services. Our ambition is not to add administrative complexity but to simplify, clarify, and secure citizens' procedures. Ultimately, our compatriots will no longer have to provide the same information to multiple administrations, nor suffer the delays linked to the compartmentalization of public services. The state must better organize its systems, make its administrations communicate, and share useful information in strict compliance with the law, personal data protection, and our national sovereignty. That is administrative modernization, that is interoperability. That is the deep meaning of this reform: to enable the state to better coordinate to better serve the citizen. I also attach particular importance to the involvement of Congolese talents in this transformation. Our youth must not only consume digital solutions designed elsewhere; they must be actors, creators, entrepreneurs, and beneficiaries. To this end, I instruct the government, in strict compliance with the law, to ensure six essential priorities. First, make the RDC Pass the reference access key to the state's digital public services, respecting the existing legal and institutional framework. Second, accelerate the digitalization of priority public services according to a realistic, transparent, and measurable schedule. Third, guarantee interoperability between administrations to put an end to the multiplication of isolated and ineffective platforms. Fourth, strengthen our national capacities in cybersecurity, electronic certification, data governance, and protection of public information systems. Fifth, ensure the inclusion of all populations, particularly in provinces, territories, rural areas, and environments where digital access remains limited. Sixth, finally, establish a rigorous monitoring and evaluation mechanism so that this reform produces concrete, visible, and sustainable results. I want a serious, orderly, inclusive digital transformation useful to the Congolese people. My dear compatriots, I invite you to take ownership of the RDC Pass with confidence and responsibility. This reform is designed for you. It aims to bring the state closer to citizens, simplify your administrative procedures, secure your digital identity, and progressively improve your access to public services. I am aware of the questions such an innovation may raise. That is why the government will ensure to inform, explain, support, and reassure so that everyone understands the stakes and benefits of this advancement. Before concluding, I invite you to remember that the RDC Pass reflects a simple conviction: the state must be at the service of the citizen. It is in this spirit and with the determination to continue building a modern, sovereign, inclusive, and connected Democratic Republic of Congo that I officially declare the RDC Pass launched. The path towards the DRC Digital Nation 2030 is now open. One citizen, one identifier, one connected DRC. Long live the digital transformation of our nation. May God bless the Democratic Republic of Congo and its people. Thank you.