Trust new national ID system, Green urges

WESTERN BUREAU:

Floyd Green, the minister responsible for the National Identification System (NIDS), which is slated to be made operational this year, is seeking to reassure Jamaicans that the programme can be trusted despite past concerns about the perceived intrusiveness.

Green warned that companies and countries which do not accept the world's digital progression will be left behind while the rest of the globe advances, including during times of crisis such as the COVID-19 pandemic.

“The government is spending US$60 million to put in place a system that people can trust, and this is the NIDS. We are using technology to make what we offer more valuable,” said Green, who is a minister without portfolio in the Office of the Prime Minister. “I want us to see technology as a way to transform our society and to not see it as a foreign concept.”

Green was speaking at a tourism ministerial forum held today at the Montego Bay Convention Centre in Rose Hall, St James. 

He pointed to Jamaica's tourism product as an example of several sectors which have had to adjust their operations in the face of global obstacles, particularly the pandemic.

The NIDS card is being proposed by the Government to eliminate the need for other forms of identification, including photo identification signed by a Justices of the Peace. 

The Registrar General's Department is to be transformed into the National Identification and Registration Authority, which will be responsible for civil registration such as births and deaths, and NIDS. 

A National Identification and Registration Inspectorate is also to be established with responsibility for independently monitoring the Authority to ensure compliance with the law.

The NIDS architecture is being built on a law that was approved in 2021, concluding a process that started over 40 years ago. 

A previous law with significant biometric requirements in addition to being mandatory was struck down in 2019 after a court ruled it was unconstitutional. 

Follow The Gleaner on Twitter and Instagram @JamaicaGleaner and on Facebook @GleanerJamaica. Send us a message on WhatsApp at 1-876-499-0169 or email us at onlinefeedback@gleanerjm.com or editors@gleanerjm.com.