NIDS is step towards creating efficient digital society

THE EDITOR, Madam:

I support online services; however, I am concerned that there is need to protect our digital identity. If we are going to be present online – as it is becoming more mandatory than voluntary – we must best secure ourselves. It is because of this reason that I support the National Identification System (NIDS), the premise of which is founded on the need for data protection while we navigate the digital domain.

Since the start of 2022, I have seen different thrusts to ensure the requisite due diligence is done prior to the official roll-out of the previously ‘long-debated’ now ‘long-awaited’ NIDS.

During his Throne Speech, Governor General Sir Patrick Allen alluded to the integral part the NIDS will play in the continuous development and evolution of our independent nation. Additionally, most recently we saw Floyd Green and his team in Brazil doing the card’s print proof.

For too long, the complaint has been the ‘backwardness of government’. Tasks that were once mundane and odious, such as the payment of motor vehicle registration, which typically took hours at our tax offices, and the application of National Housing Trust returns, now take less than two minutes to complete. All these are due to online platforms and the expansion of services by various agencies; these are initiatives we must applaud.

If the NIDS card will enable increased efficiency throughout the service sector, let us as citizens play our part and get on board. NIDS is to protect our own information and identity, because, undoubtedly, most of us are vulnerable to identity theft daily when we utilise our personal information online, whether for business or social delights.

I can only hope that 2022 will be more that just 60 years of Independence, but will be the year that we move forward as a digital nation.

SEIGE FEARON