NIDS Project Integral to Building Out Key Infrastructure to Support Secure Online Services – PM

Prime Minister, the Most. Hon. Andrew Holness, says the National Identification System (NIDS) Project has been very integral to building out the underlying public key infrastructure to support secure online services.

“The NIDS project has supported the rollout of e-passports and the Electronic immigration gates (e-gates), which are now fully operational at Sangster International Airport, and has assisted greatly in speeding up passenger flow. E-gates are now being tested in the Norman Manley International Airport,” Mr. Holness said.

The Prime Minister was making his contribution to the 2024/25 Budget Debate in the House of Representatives, on March 21.

He informed that the Regulations pursuant to the National Identification and Registration Act are ready and will be taken to Parliament for consideration next month.

In addition, the Board of the National Identification and Registration Authority (NIRA), chaired by the Custos of St. James, Hon. Conrad Pitkin, is in place to oversee the operations of the National Identification System.

The Prime Minister informed that to roll out the national identification card, 23 Post Offices across Jamaica will be renovated and used as NIDS enrolment sites.

The procurement process for eight of these – Montego Bay, Black River, May Pen, Santa Cruz, Falmouth, St. Ann’s Bay, Ocho Rios, and Mandeville – has been completed and work will begin shortly.

Mr. Holness also stated that the renovated Post Offices will double as digital service points, which will become dedicated areas for people to receive help and have access to digital services free of charge.

“The NIDS project, in conjunction with the Registrar General’s Department, has digitally scanned and stored 1.4 million civil registration documents. At the end of this exercise, we would have scanned 2.246 million birth, death, marriage, adoption, and deed poll records, thereby creating a database of documents that would not require physical retrieval and enable several online services,” he pointed out.

In the meantime, Mr. Holness stated that a functional Data Protection Act and operational body is a prerequisite for the rollout of the national ID.

“Last year, significant provisions of the Data Protection Act came into force, including the requirement of data controllers to register. The Office of Information Commissioner has launched its official portal, through which data controllers can register,” he noted.

“We know that the new Data Protection Act requirements are a concern for many businesses, especially the micro, small and medium enterprise (MSME) sector. Last year, we granted a further six months’ extension for data controllers to prepare for compliance with the provisions of the Act.

We are now actively exploring how we can provide further time, especially to our MSMEs,” he added.

To this end, the OIC will be following general international best practices by adopting a strategic approach to the implementation of the Data Protection Act.

Upon the end of the grace period in June 2024, the OIC will only commence registration with controllers in the following categories: ministries, departments and agencies of government; high-risk sectors, such as financial, health, education, tourism and ICT services; other businesses that conduct data processing on a large scale or that have a significant risk of prejudice to a large number of data subjects; and data controllers who are required to appoint a Data Protection Officer.

Also, the OIC will publish the categories of controllers who will be required to be registered at the end of the extension, and persons can liaise with the OIC to clarify whether they need to register in June.

“We believe this approach balances the rights and interests of the people without placing an unnecessary regulatory burden on small businesses. We are a listening government, and we are doing what we can to address the concerns raised by implementing the Data Protection Act in a strategic and responsible manner,” Mr. Holness said.