$1.25 Billion Allocated to Commence Implementation of NIDS

The Government has allocated $1.25 billion to commence implementation of the National Identification System (NIDS) during the 2018/19 fiscal year.

The sum is contained in the Estimates of Expenditure, which were tabled in the House of Representatives on Thursday, February 15.

The project, which is being implemented by the Office of the Prime Minister, aims to establish unique identification numbers for individuals and develop a secure, efficient and reliable database for all Jamaican citizens.

It is envisaged that under the project, all citizens will be enrolled on the NIDS; the number of persons with disabilities, who do not have identification cards will be reduced, so too the transactional costs associated with identity verification for public and private service providers.

Achievements under the project, which got underway in October 2017, include the completion of a detailed information and communication technology design; development and launch of a NIDS public engagement portal; identification of hosting, production and enrolment sites; and passage of the National Identification and Registration Bill.

Targets for this year include procurement of hardware and software to establish the necessary hosting and enrolment sites, and commencement of a pilot, targeting public sector employees.

The project is being jointly funded by the Government of Jamaica and the Inter-American Development Bank.