Council and civil status software for local authorities in Cameroon

In many councils, birth, marriage and death registers are paper books kept in archive rooms, exposed to humidity, fire, insects and wear. Finding an old entry can take hours, a damaged register can leave citizens unable to obtain copies, and forged birth certificates are a known problem for schools, examinations and employers. Births not declared in time have to go through a court judgment, which adds delay for families.

Digitising the registers gives each civil status centre a searchable index and an image of every page, protects the information if a book is damaged, and speeds up the issue of copies. It does not replace the legal register: the signed record and the official procedures remain those defined by law and by the national civil status authorities, including BUNEC (Bureau National de l’État Civil). Our software is the council’s own working tool; we do not claim any official integration or approval.

Under the General Code of Regional and Local Authorities, councils and regional councils carry more responsibilities and depend more on their own revenue. Much of that revenue is collected in small amounts, in markets, motor parks and streets, by agents carrying receipt books. Leakage is hard to measure when receipts are paper and payments are cash.

With collection on handheld devices and payment by MTN MoMo or Orange Money through our Mobile Money integration, every payment produces a receipt and reaches the system the same day, and the municipal treasurer can reconcile collections per agent and per market. Councils that bill water or waste services can add Opes Utility, and those managing land and building files can add Opes Land.

We start with an assessment of the registers, revenue sources and existing equipment, then deliver in phases: often the revenue module first, because it brings in resources quickly, then the digitisation of registers centre by centre. Screens and receipts are in English and French, which matters in councils of the North-West and South-West as much as in Yaoundé or Douala. Data is hosted where the council decides, access is by role and logged, and our cybersecurity team reviews the setup. Council staff can be paid with Opes Payroll (see our payroll software).