Lesotho’s e-government programme tells citizens to “say goodbye” to queueing at the Post Office building to obtain an identity document. Its citizen portal advertises online renewal of expiring or expired national ID cards under the promise “no queues required.” The object being digitized is therefore not only paperwork. It is the applicant’s journey to an office, adjustment to opening hours, and time spent waiting for a turn.
Digitization does not eliminate identity checks. The portal links an account to a verified national identity, phone number, and email address. A digital/service identification pilot announced in 2026 likewise required a valid national ID, a registered SIM card, and biometric enrolment. The first testing phase was planned for approximately 10,000 participants.
What makes this queue distinctive is that the government itself identified waiting as a service-design problem. The physical line may shrink, while verification moves into a chain of cards, communications, and biometrics. That exchange can save substantial time for people able to use the portal, but it also exposes a new threshold: applicants need connectivity, a device, and an existing identity document before they can avoid the old queue. “No queues required” is both a promise of improvement and a test of who can reach the digital entrance.