THE Government has denied claims that it will be spending $9 billion (US$68 million) to finance the proposed national identification system (NIDS).

In fact, Government sources are saying that more than 70 per cent of the anticipated Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) loan will go towards plans to accommodate a digital expansion.

The Government spokesmen say that the loan, which is expected be approved by December, will be used to finance a massive transformation of its technology to accommodate new developments, mainly to support economic growth.

According to the director of communications in the Office of the Prime Minister (OPM) Robert Nesta Morgan, the Government is banking on IDB approval of the loan by year-end to meet the new IDB financial year, which begins in January.

However, Morgan told an OPM press conference at Jamaica House on Tuesday that the Government was not yet in a position to give details on how the funds would be spent, as “a lot of the processes to deal with that evolution are not being looked at”.

“So, while we can say to you that a significant portion of the funding is going to go into evolving the Government’s technological foundation and help to bring us forward into a digital economy, we cannot give specifics as to how we are going to spend ‘x’ amount of millions of dollars on this computer system, or ‘x’ amount of millions on that system,” he told Tuesday’s briefing.

“There are projections, but if we are to predict it, we might be in violation of the procurement process,” he added.

Speaking at the same briefing, Warren Vernon, the NIDS programme director, indicated that most of the projects would upgrade the Government’s data centre, e-Gov, which includes all of the ministries, departments and agencies, by providing connectivity and ensuring that the relevant security systems and processes are in place.

The NIDS, which is being facilitated under the National Identification and Registration Bill, will provide a comprehensive and secure structure to enable the capture and storage of identity information for all Jamaicans.

Under the system, each citizen will be provided with a randomised nine-digit National Identification Number, which they will have for life.

According to Vernon, the procurement stage is well advanced for a technological solution that will include enrolment stations, computer systems, fingerprint scanners, cameras, manual signature capture devices, and other equipment required to implement the system.

He said that the Government expects that very soon the IDB will approve the project, and all the documents will become publicly available.

“We expect that as soon as the project is approved all of those documents will be made available to the public. So you will see, based on the component, all of the different things that we intended to do, and the cost of each component,” he said.

He, however, named three components which will be addressed under the programme. These were: The legal framework; the entire infrastructure for the setting up of the system; and adoption and data cleaning across government and to ensure that the system is designed in such a way that the private sector can utilise it to help create the digital society.

“So, very soon we are hoping that the project will be approved, and if it is approved then the documentation will be made available to the public. Once IDB projects are approved, the documents are made available for public consumption and it will be done under the ‘open government’ structure,” he said.