‘NOTHING IS SECRET’

Daryl Vaz on Tuesday declared that “nothing is private or secret” in the face of mounting concerns over whether his disclosure of Opposition Leader Mark Golding’s passport and citizenship information amounted to a breach of data privacy.

“No public figure, whether in Jamaica or the world, should ever think that anything they have can be hidden. You start on the premise that anything you’re involved in or associated with can be found,” Vaz, the minister of science, energy, telecommunications and transport, told The Gleaner.

The newspaper reported on Monday that Golding held British citizenship in addition to his Jamaican citizenship.

Vaz, the Cabinet minister who has been at the forefront of the Government’s campaign against Golding’s possession of dual citizenship, fired back at the opposition People’s National Party (PNP), asserting that its stated concern about a breach of its leader’s privacy is of no moment.

The party on Monday accused the minister of publicly releasing information on Golding’s private interactions with the Passport, Immigration and Citizenship Agency (PICA) while speaking on Radio Jamaica’s current affairs programme Beyond the Headlines with host Dionne Jackson Miller.

The PNP called Vaz’s action “disturbing”, noting at the same time that Jamaicans rightfully expect that business conducted with PICA is maintained in strict confidence.

The party called on Senator Dr Dana Morris Dixon, the minister with responsibility for information and digital transformation, to “address this serious breach promptly”.

SOURCE OF INFORMATION

But Vaz has denied that the information came from PICA, posting on social media platform X that it came from “deep within the belly of the PNP”.

Vaz told Jackson Miller that Golding applied for his Jamaican passport at age 46, five years after serving as a senator.

He said the opposition leader applied for the travel document in 2011 or 2012.

He said Golding applied for and received a United Kingdom visa in 2022 because he was to lead a party delegation to London.

“I’ve already disclosed where I got the information from and that is the art and skill of politics,” Vaz said when quizzed by The Gleaner on whether he believed he had released personal information.

“Absolutely not. He has an obligation – and still has an obligation – to come clean to the country and to give all of the details in relation to his UK passport and his Jamaican passport and citizenship,” Vaz added.

Further, he argued that PICA does not fall within his ministerial portfolio, asserting that he had no way of demanding information from the agency.

“I did what I needed to do as a Jamaican citizen and that was to expose what Golding should have told us before he went into the Senate. I did nothing wrong. Information comes to me as it comes to other people every day and that is the world we live in and it isn’t going to change for the better. It’s going to become easier and accessible to get information on whatever subject matter one desires,” said Vaz.

Pressed on whether his actions should trigger concerns among Jamaicans about data security and protection, the minister said, “absolutely not”.

DISTRACTION FROM THE MAIN POINT

He said there are provisions in the Data Protection Act to prevent a breach of data privacy, and called concerns from the PNP a red herring aimed at distracting from what he said is the main point of Golding’s dual citizenship.

“I have no apologies to make and I will do it again if it is in the best interest of Jamaica and the Jamaican people on whatever subject matter,” said Vaz.

The Gleaner was unable to reach Information Commissioner Celia Barclay for comment on the matter because she was out of office.

When contacted on Tuesday, Dixon, whose ministerial portfolio covers data protection and privacy, said Vaz has publicly stated that the information he previously discussed was supplied by sources within the PNP.

“We are not aware of any breach of the Data Protection Act at PICA,” she said, adding that the Andrew Holness administration is committed to data protection and data privacy.

She said the implementation of the Data Protection Act demonstrates this commitment.

Meanwhile, data privacy expert and attorney-at-law Chukwuemeka Cameron determined that while the information released by Vaz may not be a breach of the act, it is concerning.

“I cannot say that that is personal data. Is it okay? No, it is not,” said Cameron.

He said under the act, personal data is defined as any information that can be used to identify an individual either by itself or in connection with any other piece of information.

He said the dates of the application relating to Golding in a strict legal context is not personal data.

“My concern is the ability to even access that, but the fact is when he applied is not personal data, but there are concerns. This is the biggest concern we have about Government collecting our information. Forget about it in the political scenario. If it is a minister or an agent of the State wants to access personal information for their own purposes, that is what we are concerned about, and that is where the information commissioner comes in and that is why we have a right to informational privacy,” he told The Gleaner.

kimone.francis@gleanerjm.com