Dear Editor,

The prime minister’s announcement that anyone seeking to get a benefit through the recovery process must be registered under the National Identification System (NIDS) is of concern.

According to Prime Minster Dr Andrew Holness, the relief efforts were hampered by the “ability to swiftly identify and verify beneficiaries”. I would dare say that most people did not think it would have been a swift process to bring relief to individuals, but to wait an entire year?

I can think of a particular woman in St Elizabeth who is still living under tarpaulin. Before Hurricane Melissa, she lived in a house with the consent of the owners. Melissa totally destroyed the house and, of course, the furnishings. Her plight has been verified by at least one government agency, but to date, she has not received any assistance despite the fact that she possesses a current passport. She is not expecting assistance to rebuild the house since it was not hers from the start, but she too has suffered major loss. Her identity and the loss can be verified, but still no assistance from the Government. So how will registering with NIDS help her?

As to the need to prevent duplication of benefits, shortly after Melissa I made a call to the Ministry of Labour and Social Security on behalf of a gentleman in St Elizabeth whose house had been severely damaged. The officer at the ministry checked the records and was able to say to me, quite tartly, that the man’s wife’s name was already on the list, and since they both occupied the same dwelling, placing his name on the list would be a duplication. So the agencies are aware of the possibility of duplicating benefits and have implemented measures to deal with same.

It is reasonable to insist on beneficiaries having an acceptable form of identification, especially for the more valuable benefits. But the prime minster has made it clear that NIDS will be the only acceptable form of identification for receiving benefits. Registration under NIDS is supposed to be a voluntary act. The dangling of scarce benefits before the eyes of needy people does smack of a form of manipulation, belying the principle of voluntary action.

Think again, Prime Minister.

S Richards

sprichards82@yahoo.com