Project director for the National Identification System (NIDS),Warren Vernon, says that the legislative framework for introducing the system is only awaiting approval from Parliament.

“We are at a stage now where we are awaiting on the legislative framework so that we can make a recommendation that will come out of this process, because we can tweak,” Vernon told the joint select committee reviewing the National Identification and Registration Act, 2020 also known as the NIDS Bill at Gordon House on Tuesday.

“If we are able to get the legal framework in place by, let’s say April-May, we should be in position by September to personalise or to print the first NIDS card,” Vernon told the committee which is reviewing the new Bill tabled last month by Prime Minister Andrew Holness.

The proposed legislation replaces the original NIDS Bill which was deemed unconstitutional by the Supreme Court last year.

Responding to questions from Opposition MP Julian Robinson, Vernon said that the NIDS Bill will also be very important for poor Jamaicans, as it will enable them to access the financial system.

“We are also working on that and, in discussions with the financial institutions, to facilitate it. In fact, the Bank of Jamaica would have gone ahead [already] and, as you know, they changed their regulations,” said Vernon.

“It is very important for the poor because you will now have the little man on the corner being able to open a bank account using the NIDS card, by using the framework and the system that we put in place,” added Vernon..

He said that the NIDS team at the Office of the Prime Minister was also looking at how it would manage the situation regarding finding addresses across the country.

According to Vernon, this will require using the ‘Plus Codes’, which are like street addresses for people or places that don’t have one.

Instead of addresses with street names and numbers, Plus Codes are based on latitude and longitude, and are displayed as numbers and letters.

Vernon said that the NIDS would not include addresses on the identification cards because of the number of people with multiple addresses, but will facilitate the use of the echo system in assisting in dealing with the issue of addresses.

“It is for these reasons that we are not going to put addresses on the identification cards because we know you have people out there with multiple addresses, and we need to be able to facilitate the echo system and how they operate,” said Vernon who did not indicate how the echo system would work.