KINGSTON, Jamaica — Two million records at the Registrar General’s Department (RGD) relating to birth, marriage, death, and adoption, created from 1930, are to be digitised under the National Identification System (NIDS).

This follows the signing of a contract with Fujitsu Limited at the Office of the Prime Minister (OPM) on Friday to facilitate the process.

Noting the importance of digitisation in safeguarding the vital records at the RGD, Prime Minister Andrew Holness in his address at the ceremony said the digitisation process will preserve the records and ensure correct documentation and verification of status. This, the prime minister said is important for public accountability.

“As the society becomes more sophisticated and complex, in order to reduce the complications of accountability [and] security, you have to introduce technology,” Holness said.

“So, when we say we are digitising our economy by introducing technology, it is about increasing our capacity to serve and take on complex functions in a simple way,” he explained.

Minister Without Portfolio in the OPM Floyd Green said digitising the RGD’s records will make the process more efficient and enhance services.

“More importantly, we’ll be able to have our people save money [and] improve the lives of our citizens,” he shared.

According to Green, the signing ceremony marked the completion of a 24-month journey involving a national and international procurement process, where Fujitsu Limited succeeded with the highest technical score.

He added that the company will install the necessary infrastructure at the RGD’s head office at Twickenham Park, St Catherine to facilitate the digitisation of records.

For his part, Chief Executive Officer of Fujitsu Caribbean and Latin America Mervyn Eyre said the project is a “pivotal step in digitally transforming the public sector to deliver citizen-centric services faster and more securely”.

“To transform into a more trusted society, we believe we need a step-by-step approach that strengthens digital resilience at the core, delivers greater value to society through digital innovation, and ultimately creates new value through digital ecosystems,” he said.

NIDS will provide a comprehensive and secure structure to enable the collection and storage of identity information which will verify identity, facilitate the electronic signing of documents, and securely access a range of government services online.