NIDS becoming mandatory concerns Coalition

A group of 13 local institutions today cautioned the Government against allowing the newly drafted National Identification and Registration (NIDS) Bill to become mandatory. Leader of the group, Jamaicans for Justice (JFJ) spokesman Rodje Malcolm, said the law should not be made mandatory by requiring identification to become necessary to access basic goods and services. Malcolm also suggested that significant components of the legal framework for the NIDS Bill have been left to future regulations. He said that while it is not controversial to relegate operational matters to subsidiary legislation, in some cases, the Bill did not establish foundational clarity and direction.