Clarendon North Central Residents Get Free Birth Certificates
By: , January 17, 2024
Photo: Yhomo Hutchinson
Member of Parliament for Clarendon North Central, Hon. Robert Morgan (right), and Customer Service Representative at the Registrar General’s Department (RGD), Shaniece Stewart (left), join Ackeem Manning in showing off his new birth certificate. Occasion was the presentation of birth certificates to 17 residents under ‘Operation Birthright’ during a recent ceremony at the Chapelton Library.The Full Story
Seventeen residents from Clarendon North Central, who were without formal identification, have received birth certificates under the ‘Operation Birthright’ programme.
The documents were presented by representatives of the Registrar General’s Department (RGD during a ceremony held at the Chapelton Library.
Member of Parliament for the area, Hon. Robert Morgan, in his address at the handover ceremony, said he was pleased that the residents are getting the documents.
He noted that having a birth certificate not only provides proof of identity but enables persons to benefit from social services such as education and employment.
“I hope that you will use it to get all your other documents, such as the National Identification System (NIDS) identification, when it is ready, and your Taxpayer Registration Number (TRN),” he told the residents.
A US$350,000 project of the Government of Jamaica, ‘Operation Birthright’ aims to provide birth certificates, free of cost, to eligible persons across the island who are without the important document.
Approximately 11,000 undocumented Jamaicans are being targeted under the initiative.
It is estimated that some 200,000 Jamaicans do not have legal proof of identity.
Regional Manager for the RGD, Ventora Cyrus, said Operation Birthright is intended for persons earning a monthly income of $52,000 and below.
“We want everyone to be able to have an identity, [without which] you cannot do business, you cannot get a TRN, a passport, and do banking. You must have a birth certificate, so we encourage you to tell your friends to come in to the RGD,” she said.
Operation Birthright falls under NIDS, which aims to create a unique, reliable and secure method of verifying individuals’ identities.
Eligible persons can be recommended for the undocumented registration programme by several institutions and individuals.
In addition to MPs, these include the Head of the Jamaica Council for Persons with Disabilities; senior officials of the Ministry of Local Government and Community Development; Members of Parliament; Justices of the Peace, and public officers.
Recommendations can also be made by a medical practitioner, minister of religion, police officer, parish councillor, dental surgeon, official representative of the Missionaries of the Poor, chief executive officer/coordinator of a Registered Civil Society Organisation, and Head of the Programme of Advancement through Health and Education (PATH), among others.