Dear Editor,

The proposed national identification system (NIDS) has so far divided opinions within the Jamaican public. The new system has undergone several changes since its initial conception; however, it would now appear that the Bill is approaching what could be described as some sort of finality.

The general atmosphere towards the new system in Jamaica does appear to be negative; however, if citizens in the country were willing to take the time to properly assess the dynamics and benefits of the NIDS I believe they would see the potential for a transparent system with the potential to revolutionise the way we operate here on the island.

One of the main benefits of NIDS will be the transparency which it will provide the country. Jamaica currently lacks a distinguished national ID, hence the overreliance on functional forms of identification such as driver’s licences, voter’s IDs, passports, etc. The overreliance on these functional cards and the ease with which people have been able to use some of these items to commit identity theft and other related crimes makes moving to the NIDS a no-brainer.

The big pull/upgrade with NIDS is that it will be a digital system with layers of cybersecurity attached to enhance safety and accessibility. Whereas some of the previous cards lacked the digital advances to ensure a high level of safety, NIDS will not, as the system is being built from scratch to support optimal function in this ever-advancing digital era.

From my research, one potential benefit of NIDS will ultimately allow citizens the ability to know who accessed their information and for what reasons such information was accessed. The official NIDS website hints at this, stating that it “will permit the digitalisation of government, reduce bureaucracy, and create dynamic and transparent records of Government-to-citizen transactions”. The transparency with regards to Government-to-citizen transactions stands out as at current there are examples of countries who allow citizens access to view how their information, via their respective NIDS, is used. Belgium, for example, with their eID project, allows citizens to keep track of who has accessed their data stored on the card and for what purpose.

As can be seen, any implementation of NIDS stands to help make transactions on the island more secure through the use of upgraded technology. NIDS has the potential to be revolutionary through its level of security and the potential for corporate inclusivity, which will allow for a system less shrouded and susceptible to back-door dealings like we currently have.

We will have a more open and transparent system allowing each individual and entity involved to enjoy a greater level of accountability and transparency.

Giovannie Bailey

giovanniebailey@yahoo.com