Jamaica’s Prime Minister, Andrew Holness, is expected to begin the technical pilot for the country’s national identification system (NIDS) this week, with a selected number of Jamaicans enrolling.
NIDS, which is optional, is designed to provide a secure, convenient, and reliable way of validating an individual’s identification.
Minister without portfolio in the Office of the Prime Minister Floyd Green, who made the disclosure, said the wide cross-section of individuals which will include members of the disabled community will give their evaluation on the process.
Green made the announcement after taking part in a panel discussion on data privacy and security at the Tech Beach Jamaica event last Friday.
He shared that the pilot is expected to run for about three months in hopes of receiving sufficient feedback that would roll out nationally.
He said the pilot will be based at the Central Sorting Office (CSO) on South Camp Road in Kingston, the first of five pilot enrolment locations to be developed.
Green also noted that Jamaicans are accepting the technological revolution due to COVID-19 and shared that there is favorability in the program based on the data gathered about knowledge, values, and beliefs about NIDS.
Green also stated that a communication campaign will begin in January to address some of the questions, speak about privacy and security, and dispel some myths about NIDS.
NIDS, which is expected to roll out to the general public in 2023 will create a credible database of all Jamaican citizens and provide each individual with a unique lifetime national identity number (NIN).
The NIN in the long term may be used along with a multi-purpose card or uploaded to smartphones.
The system is expected to improve governance and management of social, economic, and security programs.
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