Holness urges J’cans to embrace NIDS

PRIME MINISTER Andrew Holness says the introduction of the National Identification System (NIDS) is a critical step in Jamaica fully becoming a digital society and is urging Jamaicans to embrace the technology.

Speaking at the launch of the National Identification and Registration Authority (NIRA) yesterday where the membership was named, Holness said NIDS will create a digital society where there is no divide and all Jamaicans can participate.

Holness said the nine-member NIRA was put together to carry out a function of the state that continues regardless of who forms government and the political policies of the day.

“This is about the establishment, the protection and the utility of citizens’ identity, citizens’ records and the civil registry within which these are entailed and protected,” said Holness.

Holness said he wants Jamaicans to participate in the system because they see the value of participation which will ultimately become a duty that is not enforced but one that they believe they should fulfil.

He said Jamaicans should look at the system as one that is good for society and good for themselves.

The Government has touted NIDS as a unique, reliable and secure way of verifying an individual’s identity.

But many Jamaicans remain sceptical over enrolling in the system.

In 2019, Jamaica’s Supreme Court ruled that aspects of the controversial National Identification and Registration Act are in violation of the Constitution and declared the entire law null and void.

Two years later in 2021, the House of Representatives passed the act, which will establish NIDS, following amendments to the bill which was first passed in 2017, triggering the court battle brought by the parliamentary opposition.

Holness has since said enrolment in the system is voluntary.

“So, this system is built on it being a utility. It is a service that has value for people and therefore they will seek to participate and seek to join and they will feel safe in doing so,” he said yesterday.

Holness said the establishment of NIRA represents a commitment to modernisation, efficiency, and the safeguarding of Jamaicans’ rights.

He said NIDS will serve as a cornerstone of the Government’s efforts to enhance national security, improve access to government services, and foster socioeconomic development.

editorial@gleanerjm.com

Members of NIRA along with their roles and areas of expertise are:

• Bishop Conrad Pitkin, CD, JP custos rotulorum – chairman, National Identification and Registration Authority (NIRA)

• Georgia Hamilton – attorney-at-law

• Reverend Newton Dixon – representative from the Jamaica Umbrella Group of Churches

• Kenrick Steele – information and communication technology, and cybersecurity

• Alok Jain, CD – financial management and accounting

• Maria Thompson Walters – human resource management and public administration

• Shereika Hemmings Allison, JP – senior public official in the ministry with responsibility for the authority

• Emil Holgate – senior public official in the ministry with responsibility for national security

• Gordon Christopher Reckord – representative of the Private Sector Organisation of Jamaica