Legislation to enable the establishment of a national identity card system is expected to be debated by members of Parliament in December.
Tamara Ebanks, acting chief officer in the Ministry of Investment, Innovation and Social Development, told the Public Accounts Committee last week that the ministry was on track to present the draft legislation to Parliament by the year-end target.
The next meeting of Parliament is expected to be in December.
Ebanks gave a brief update on the progress of the national ID scheme to the members of the Public Accounts Committee, which was discussing an Office of the Auditor General’s report into the government’s online services.
PAC chairman Roy McTaggart, noting that while the primary legislation is a critical element in setting up a national identity system, queried if the necessary back-end for the system would be ready once the bill is passed.
Eric Bush, chief officer in the Ministry of Planning, Agriculture, Housing and Infrastructure, who was the previous chief officer in the Ministry of Innovation, assured the chairman that the necessary software had been procured within the last year, and work was well advanced on the system – which will include a digital ID card.
“The company that won the public bid is a company that is well versed in national IDs. This is their business,” he said.
French tech firm SELP SAS, which specialises in smart cards and related solutions, won the bid and is creating the national ID cards.
Asked when the public could expect the implementation of the national identity system once the legislation is passed, Ebanks said she would supply the committee later with a timeline for the commencement of operation.
In her report on government’s online services, Auditor General Sue Winspear noted that the introduction of a national ID for citizens of the Cayman Islands and users of the e-government platform was cited back in 2015 as a requirement for the successful completion of an e-government strategy.
“The project to develop a national ID programme has taken longer than expected due to other priorities,” Winspear noted.
She added that the national ID programme is now “at an advanced stage, but it requires primary legislation before it can be implemented”, noting that her office has been informed that the legislation has been drafted and is almost ready to be issued for consultation.
She stated in her report, completed in June, that the bill for the enabling legislation was expected to be tabled in the Parliament later in 2022.
According to the request for proposals issued last year, the national digital ID will be a physical photo identification card with a chip and two digital certificates for the purposes of secure authentication of the individual’s identity and a qualified electronic signature.
It noted that printed on the physical card would be the holder’s name, date of birth, national ID number, photo and signature, and the expiry date of the card. That information, as well as additional data, would also be stored digitally on the card’s chip, could be read by a chip reader.
The back of the card would have a QR code and possibly a bar code.
The intention is that the card can be used for identification and electronic signature purposes by members of the public accessing businesses in the private sector and government entities.
The request for proposals noted that the “National eID is intended to become the primary form of government issued photo ID for everyday use locally within the Cayman Islands”, and that it may possibly replace the Cayman Islands voter identification card.
It would not replace driver’s licences, which are currently used as one of the main sources of ID on island.
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