EDITORIAL: IDENTIFY US
The Government is embarking on an interesting new programme to provide us with Digital Barbados Identification Cards. The process started late last year with the Ministry of Innovation, Science and Smart Technology contracting Productive Business Solutions (Barbados) Ltd, PBS to complete aspects of the project. Many Barbadians are excited to have a more modern Identification Card as our current Identification Cards are often disregarded internationally and sometimes are not accepted due to the fact that they are not digital and do not bear an expiry date.
The new ID cards will be easier to use to complete online transactions and also to facilitate the signing of electronic documents. The project, which will be overseen by the Ministry of Innovation, Science and Smart Technology in conjunction with the Electoral Department, who usually deals with registration and Identification Cards, is part of a wider public service initiative to move towards more efficient operations integrating greater use of technology. The new public sector modernisation programme will focus on digitising Barbados’ records and the EZ-pay payment platform now allows persons to pay taxes and other payments online instead of waiting in the extremely long lines that can often be found in Government offices.
All of these things are fantastic developments, but as usual their efficiency is yet to be fully observed because the systems which run them are often offline or not working, causing people to revert to the old way of doing business. A major issue however, is the significant delay Barbadians have had to face in obtaining important identification documents, the situation has become untenable. Valid photo identification is necessary for almost every type of transaction locally and internationally and very often two valid forms of photo identification are required. Many Barbadians only have one form of photo identification. There are often challenges in obtaining photo identification at every turn.
At present the most pressing issue, is the situation with plastic driver’s licence which have expiry dates. When their computer systems are working, the Barbados Licensing Authority is ready and willing to take the fees but are unable to provide what customers are paying for – which is a valid driver’s licence. All that is currently provided is the payment receipt which Barbados Licensing Authority itself does not accept as a proof of a valid licence. This means that anyone whose plastic card is expired is limited as to how that card can be used as a form of identification. It cannot be used outside of Barbados and there are persons who have business to do elsewhere. Staff at the Authority are aware of this situation and are sympathetic but can do very little until the printers are back online. They can only advise that the service might resume soon and that persons should listen to the airwaves. Persons who need to travel and drive overseas must be absolutely livid that they cannot be provided with a valid Barbadian driver’s licence. The fact that sections of the Authority have recently moved from The Pine, St Michael to Warrens and have had no phone lines for some time now also serves to exacerbate the issue.
The situation with the National Identification Card is fairly straightforward. The distribution of the new cards have not yet started but it appears that you can still obtain the non digital Identification Cards from the Electoral and Boundaries commission once you can provide an original Birth certificate with a valid seal. With no clear indication as to when the new cards will be available this might be the best bet for persons who require valid identification. Birth Certificates are available at the Registration Department once one is willing to brave the long lines that snake out the door and into the sunny car park most days. However, due to the fact that the Birth Certificate has no attached photograph, it is not accepted as proof of identification in many situations.
The process for obtaining a passport requires a similarly lengthy wait as crowds of people can often be seen lining the sidewalks around the new immigration building on Princess Alice Highway. Once the application is made the process seems relatively easy which is commendable. All in all, persons should not have this many challenges when trying to obtain photo identification. It is a basic requirement that persons be able to prove who they are. Many business places and financial institutions require not only two forms of photo identification but proof of address which is another challenge for persons who contribute to expenses but do not have any utilities or loans in their name. These delays and inefficiencies in the system need to be resolved as soon as possible so that Barbadians can more easily conduct their business here and internationally.