KINGSTON, Jamaica – The Government of Jamaica’s National Identification System (NIDS) programme has been awarded for its level of project execution, by the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB).

The project copped the top awards for both Planning Accuracy 2021 and the Best Performing Project Executing Unit 2021 for the implementation of the NIDS for economic growth.

Programme Director of the NIDS, Dr Warren Vernon, said the recognition is encouraging.

“Recognition for one’s work is always encouraging. The team really worked hard, and I think this is a key motivator for them. They really appreciate the fact that an international organisation would have recognized their work, but not only that, but they came out on top,” Dr Vernon said.

He disclosed that the commitment and dedication of the team members has resulted in the unit receiving some level of award from the IDB for the last two years.

The NIDS Project Implementing Unit, based at the Office of the Prime Minister, had to overcome several challenges such as the 2019 Supreme Court ruling against the former NIDS Act and operating during a pandemic.

Dr Vernon said the team successfully pivoted to lay the groundwork for a new National Identification and Registration Policy and a new legislation that is aligned with the Supreme Court’s ruling.

“We had to shift some of our targets to focus on activities that would have been completed such as the business processes, standard operating procedures, all of the policies and system design components. We are focusing on the infrastructure component now that COVID is almost out of the way,” he stated.

Annually, the IDB measures the performance of its projects against the agreed targets and key performance indicators.

The IDB also provides tools to aid in tracking the progress of projects and their use of funds. Projects were recognized for their 2021 performance in September 2022.

“In 2021 we were required to get a data centre up and running for the NIDS. We were also required to get the card production facility up and running and those were major targets. We were also required to get the design of the NIDS solution out of the way.

Despite the challenges, we were able to meet those targets,” Dr Vernon stated.

He added that the team continues to work hard to meet its 2022 target of making the National Identification System operational this calendar year.

The first NIDS enrolment site was recently completed at the Central Sorting Office, in Kingston, and the unit has committed to completing the entire NIDS system by the end of November this year.

The Project Implementing Unit is also executing several programmes across government, such as Operation Birthright to provide free birth certificates to the undocumented.

The Unit is also digitising records at the Registrar General’s Department from the 1930s, at a cost of US$4.1 million and the upgrading of the Government’s data centre.