Last week the blogmaster received an email from a lawyer which had the Barbados Identity Management Act attached. The comment by the lawyer sharing the Act, not Bill, was that the legislation raises concerns that should trouble Barbadians. The fact that it sailed through parliament without the public being aware should expose the shortcomings of our governance model as well as the media and other actors in civil society (including the blogmaster). Regrettably the average Barbadian these days is concerned with other matters and lawmakers take advantage. The few independents in the Upper House can do so much. A pity we never observe the same appetite from lawmakers when integrity laws are being debated.
In a related matter, the issue of the day is the decision by the government to replace the national ID card (NID) with a digital version. All agree the old NID needs to be replaced, the Stuart government tried and unsurprisingly failed to execute after frittering hundreds of thousands of tax dollars.
See Barbados Identity Management Act.
The blogmaster has been keenly following public commentary on the new ID matter, on one hand government must be complimented for wanting to integrate the best technology to unlock maximum benefits for all stakeholders. The flip side is government has not earned the support from some members of the public how the project is being rolled out. High among concerns is the vulnerability of government’s IT system AND the type of information/services the new ID card will access. The chip on the card offers a secure way to protect information but what about at the backend? It is no secret government agencies are routinely impacted by cyber security breaches. Some will argue this is the reality of this modern world and we have to get on with it.
In 2018 when a representative from Estonia met with the then minister of foreign affairs Maxine Mcclean there was optimism from the blogmaster Barbados had access to a good resource. Estonia is regarded as a best in class model for the e-government platform introduced since 2005. The success of Estonia’s e-government program demonstrates what can be achieved but it must be done well.
As usual Barbados has found itself bogged down in the politics of the matter which now threatens the benefits to the country of rolling out a digital ID. We will always have naysayers, doomsday analysts and the cynical- the reality is that there is nothing inherently wrong with rolling out a digital ID, other countries are converting manual based systems to digital, however, given the threats lurking in the cyber world and the balance we have to maintain to respect and protect personal identifiable information, the government and key stakeholders must ensure we efficiently implement, something we have struggled to do with uncomplicated projects.
See relevant article – Digital ID: The opportunities and the risks
The blogmaster invites you to join the discussion.