RIGHT STEPS & POUI TREES published an article on October 16, 2020, about New NIDS Bill to be Tabled in Parliament and be passed by the end of the year.
The Prime Minister of Jamaica has left many with concerns and questions with his fast-paced timetable to the release and passing of the new NIDS Bill.
Key points:
- Prime Minister Holness in his first address to the new Parliament outlined details for the National Identification System (NIDS) and his hopes to see the Bill passed into law. Along with controversy, there is much concern that the timetable is sufficient for much-needed public review of the legislation.
- The completed draft was before the Legislative Committee (of Cabinet) and an established Joint Select Committee of Parliament which would aid in the passing of the Bill. However, based on past instances, Joint Select Committees for submissions have not adequate time for interested parties to examine draft legislation and prepare submissions. The NIDS Bill would only have mere weeks for the entire process to take place if the Bill is to be passed into law before the end of December.
- Concerns have been raised seeing that the judgment of the Constitutional Court had struck down the old Act, and the fears raised by the public before the passage of the old Act, hence the fast pace of the new bill has been many cautious.
- Though the Prime Minister has said that enrolment in the NIDS will be voluntary, the question is raised if a government or private sector entity could make the presentation of a NIDS card mandatory to access services, so enrollment becomes mandatory in practice though not in law.
- The Prime minister has since said that persons can voice their concern on the NIDS official website.
Reference: rightstepsandpouitrees.wordpress.com
Contributed by: Kyle Sterling from Jamaica. Kyle is a member of the CCST Discord group from the G5 Cyber Security Foundation Ltd. Learn more about CCST (Caribbean Cyber Support Team) by visiting caribbeancst.org. CCST is a collaborative group on the Discord platform for Caribbean people in IT, from beginners to experts.