PRIME Minister Andrew Holness is cautioning that Jamaicans who decline to register with the impending National Identification System (NIDS) could find themselves left behind in the new digital landscape envisioned for the country.

“We have to embrace the change and move forward with it so that we are not left behind again. An important part of being able to articulate and manoeuvre, move about in the digital society, is to have your identity properly established and documented by the State,” he said.

This verification of identity is the aim of NIDS which the prime minister says is a critical part of the country’s “inevitable” digital transformation.

“Once we have everyone participating in the NIDS fully, then we can increase the intensity of moving towards our digital society,” he said.

Holness, who was speaking Friday at the launch of the Government’s undocumented registration programme for persons without a birth certificate ‘Operation Birthright’, said through this $50-million initiative the Government is seeking to have more persons in possession of a birth certificate which will enable greater participation in NIDS as one of the foundation for a digital society where persons will get access to services that are now moving online.

He noted that as the Government moves towards creating a digital society, it has been rolling out its digital currency app to encourage persons to have a digital wallet (digital currency), which will make the disbursement of grants, for example, more efficient.

“… So it means that money doesn’t have to come in the form of this physical paper that you had to line up in the National Stadium to go and collect that little grant that we gave during the height of the [novel coronavirus] pandemic,” he said.

“We could have given you the money digitally if we were able to give you that digital wallet, meaning that we identify you as a person and we assign you an account in a digital space. That money on your phone in the app, you could then take it and go to a store and buy what you want. So there would’ve been no need for anyone to be lining up during a pandemic where gathering is a public risk,” he said.

He pointed out that during the pandemic, it was recognised that the Government’s ability to provide welfare services for persons in need was hampered by “the lack of a system of standardised identification”. The Government was therefore challenged in identifying some persons to whom the State’s resources were to be disbursed, he said.

Holness argued that there will be further situations where the State will need to provide resources in emergency situations and even regularly, noting that having a digital platform for this disbursement would eliminate the challenges that were encountered regarding identification.

He noted, as well, that importantly, banks are moving rapidly in embracing the digital transformation, which “will happen”.

“The banks are moving very quickly in de-branching. We are hearing banks are closing branches and setting up digital branches…The banks are offering more digital services and digital products and it is the inevitable way of the future,” he said.

Given this movement, the prime minister argued that bank transactions will be made easier and more efficient with the NIDS identification card, which provides double-factor verification so that banks will not need a myriad of documents to confirm an individual’s identification.

“All of that is now gone with the NIDS; just that one card because it captures all your civil registry information and important biographics and some demographic information. There is just one point of easy access to verify your identity,” he said.

Meanwhile, Holness said his Administration is committed to building out the digital society.

“We are on our way. We are doing it fairly and inclusively and we are making sure that the benefits of it redound to every single Jamaican. We are a few months away from NIDS being officially started…We are a few months away from the establishment of the National Identification and Registration Authority (NIRA) which is the new body to administer NIDS. We have already put in place our digital currency and we are putting in place all the legislation – data protection, the data commissioner – all of those elements are coming together,” he said.

Holness said he envisions a Jamaica that “will probably be the leading country in this region as it relates to creating a digital society”, where ideally no one is left behind.

He noted, however, that there is still an estimated 200,000 Jamaicans who are undocumented that would not be able to participate in this digital revolution. The prime minister said the Government is aiming to reaching at least 11,000 of these people through Operation Birthright. Eligible persons who are unable to afford a birth certificate will be provided with the document free of cost.

The prime minister said people who are digitally challenged will also be catered to, in that digital coaches will be deployed to assist these individuals.

“For persons who may not be as dexterous with telephones or just so accustomed to understanding their wealth in physical form that they have to see the cash, the paper, [physical] money in order to appreciate that this is wealth, that is going to take time to change. But I must say it is imminent, it is inevitable, and it will happen — but it will not be to the exclusion of those who have difficulty,” he reassured.