STUNG by an anonymous message circulated via WhatsApp about the National Identification System (NIDS), Cabinet member Dr Dana Morris Dixon made an unscheduled presentation at the post-Cabinet media briefing on Wednesday to set the record straight.

“There has been a WhatsApp [message] that has been circulating with a lot of misinformation and disinformation and it is really disconcerting to see WhatsApps like this. It speaks to a host of falsities about NIDS and the programme and they have to be dispelled,” said Morris Dixon, who is the minister without portfolio with responsibility for skills and digital transformation.

She reiterated that signing up for NIDS — which is an electronic form of identification to provide a comprehensive database for capturing and storing the personal information of Jamaicans and non-nationals ordinarily residing in Jamaica — is a voluntary exercise unlike the claim in the WhatsApp message that it is compulsory.

“The law is very clear that no one has to get this. It is on a voluntary basis so the Government will never say that you have to do it and if you don’t do it, there is fine or there is any threat of arrest. That is absolutely false,” added Morris Dixon as she urged Jamaicans not to share the message and to return it to the sender with a note that it is not true.

Morris Dixon also rubbished the claim in the message that if you do not sign up to the NIDS, you will not be able to access Government services.

“Government services are the rights of every single Jamaican and so there would never be any attempt to try to have persons kept away from Government services due to a new national ID. That is completely false again,” declared Morris Dixon.

She pointed out that NIDS has been in train for a long time and the court has already made it clear that it cannot be compulsory.

“In terms of people being fined for nor having NIDS that will never happen because again the law is very, very clear that this is a voluntary exercise. And of course, we think that there will be benefit from having this ID that has all of the information embedded in it and you can verify it, and have all these security features that are attached to it.

“And overtime we expect that people will see that it is making their lives easier but that is always on a voluntary basis as per the law,” added Morris Dixon.

The Government has already indicated that it intends to complete and launch phase one of the enrolment and issuance of NIDS cards during this fiscal year.

That will be done through a $1.3-billion allocation for the National Identification for Economic Growth project.

The Administration has also indicated that the system is being updated based on feedback from testing done during the pilot programme last year.

The NIDS will involve the issuance of a unique lifelong National Identification Number (NIN) to every person.

It will be monitored by a nine-member board which will manage the affairs of the National Identification and Registration Authority (NIRA), which is tasked with overseeing the NIDS.

The NIRA will assume administration of the civil registration system in Jamaica, eventually replacing the Registrar General’s Department, and will provide enhanced services.