Gov’t working on national ID cards
(CNS): Commerce Minister Joey Hew, who has responsibility for the General Registry, has revealed that government is working on implementing a national ID card system. But before that is launched sometime next year, his ministry is creating a comprehensive single database of all the people living in the Cayman Islands, which is the prerequisite project before the ID system is introduced, the minister said.
Answering a question from MLA Kenneth Bryan (George Town Central) as the Legislative Assembly proceedings got underway Wednesday, Hew confirmed that government was still planning to implement the long-proposed national identity card programme, but said that the first step was completing the register of everyone here, which will become the central national database on everyone.
“Work has started on the register of natural persons, which is a key prerequisite project to uniquely document all residents of our islands electronically,” Hew told the members.
“It is scheduled to be completed by Q2 of next year. A consolidated list of natural persons within our islands, excluding visitors, will be derived from the General Registry and the immigration and WORC systems. The list will be cross-referenced and identities linked with the electors and driver’s licence records. This new electronic register will provide an ID number for each person, so that in future each person can be uniquely recognised in each government system they are interacted with,” he added.
The minister said the database would help address confusions created with duplicated and shared names and other issues relating to individuals and their legal status. It is also a key step towards e-conveyancing and a joined-up government that will become the source of records for Caymanians’ immigration status in future and the right that people have to reside here.
The minister said he believed it would also help address the current challenge for Caymanians born here to prove their status when applying for work. It should eliminate the need for the specialist letters being provided at present by immigration for even multi-generational Caymanians, who are being challenged with proving their status for potential employers.
The minister explained that when the system is functional, the cards will be a combination of ID and voter registration cards. Everyone will get a card with a unique chip, which in future could include biometric data. Additional information, such as voter registration, can be added as people become eligible.
Hew said that the government had not yet made a decision on whether or not the public will be charged for the cards.
Category: Community, Local News, Politics
Hon. Min. Hew – Don’t you mean there will be a public consultation on whether the country wants mandatory national identification cards? Or don’t we get a say in our own life, country & government any more?
Sounds like this will be just like a social security number in the States, can’t do much without one and why wouldn’t you want to be uniquely identified, especially on an island with so many people with the same name?
As an anonymous international assassin this will make my job that much easier.
It is needed. Hope it will be mandatory to carry on you. Please get proper addresses and wh9 the person work for if on a permit. But the key is to enforce it. Anyone 18 and over should have one. If asked by Border patrol, police, immigration it must be presented. Might twart illegal immigration. Again Enforcement.
Ie a Fascist republic. Should we also wear our Stars of David for you?
Why don’t you tell us what’s really going on in the Glasshouse Joey? It’s that where we are detaining the aliens? #stormtheglasshouse
The Glasshouse was abandoned years ago, but I would still like to know what’s going on there.
Exactly!
I for one think it is a good idea.
A national ID will have all your relevant information which will link to all government departments and cut down on some red tape. Think about it, if someone wants to know if they are Caymanian or not they give the ID number to immigration and wala! Same if they want to know it they qualify for NAU assistance, same if Immigration task force wants to know your status etc etc!
WORK can keep a tract of your employment history to see why you keep getting fired (Joke)
And CIG can do all of that right now anyway. Without a mandatory national ID. But they don’t. Why?
Because they would rather employ 500 people to do the job 100 could carry out efficiently. Just need 1 computer program to speak to all civil service. What a concept! Scan all documents and upload to the program instead of giving 20 different pieces of paper to every person. The RCIPS could know if you have your insurance current/no fines, DUIs/police report and medical status for jobs/work permit status/Caymanian vs expat/marriage certs/birth certs/ etc etc etc. OH and don’t get me started on clearing a container from customs, they need 1 office where everyone is.
The Pi$$ Poor Management circus keeps rolling on. Mr. Hew, you are a clown extraordinaire but these big fascist ideas of yours are certainly not funny.
Bernie makes an appearance.
Then I hope you never have to interact online with any government department in the future. It would be good to have a single ID to be able to conduct business with multiple government departments.
Otherwise you can pay additional taxes to support the increase in civil servants required to deal with more population as the years roll on.
CIG could implement a single CIG-ID for people right now. Without a mandatory National ID.
Johnny: Rotten to the core. Try posting something constructive.
Try and have a valid argument or constructive opinion to the contrary or is that completely out of your realm?
10.07am Just be thankful that they allow you to work here.
Who’s this “they” you refer to? I think you might be a “they” in sheep’s clothing.
I wonder why DART has asked them to do that?
I have so many questions regarding this one – and I doubt I’ll get any answers. I am against this motion as I think it is a waste of public monies and, like the DVDL program that was “implemented” a few years ago, won’t be implemented properly. I have a passport, a driver’s license and a voters’ ID card – what more do I need for living here (all of which are optional, by the way). I can see the usefulness of establishing unique ID numbers for citizens and leaving it at that, but to have a national ID card with biometric data imprinted into an embedded microchip just seems too Orwellian for my tastes.
– Driftwood
Agree 100% and its a waste of time and money!
CIG wants to implement government ID’s for everyone. they can’t even get the ticket machines in the parking lot at the airport to take CC. Good Luck with this…
To be fair, they have upgraded the ticket machine so it now doesn’t take cash either
Fix the damn dump Joey!
That must be what Bernie is doing in the background.
Isn’t that Jon Jon’s job? Oh well…
They will all be held liable when the class action suit is filed. They are all complicit in the failure to address this health hazard.
The Dump is in Minister Hew’s district.
I have to disagree with some of the comments, I think this is this a good idea. This ID system has been implement to good effect in most developed countries. I am however, concerned that there are too many incomplete projects to start something else. How about finalizing the current ones? I remember some approvals for finger printing in the past. What happened with that project? Is the DL project completed? I am still struggling to know when my car license is up. Have we come up with a plan for the Dump? Have we sorted the congestion on the roadways especially from the eastern districts?
When people bring sales pitch to us about what they can sell us, please take you time to assess what is really been given to us. Do not be gullible just to spend and make headlines.
By all means explore this national ID system but do your homework and make sure it can be completed exactly as intended even if it goes past your time in GOV. This is not a means for you to have something to talk about and get re elected.
He should give us a truthful report on the failed CCTVs that have yet to work. Will he hold the suppliers liable for a less than operable system? We need to take a note from Puerto Rico and the South American countries.
Maybe you should just move there.Mr 9.34
6.36pm “This ID system has been implemented in most developed countries” – please name a few of the major ones. The U.S., the U.K. don’t have them.
The ID system is mirroring the system used in Estonia https://e-estonia.com/solutions/e-identity/id-card/
which has 1.3 million people. why do we need it for 60K people?
We have a growing population and without some way of knowing who who is on the Island will leave cracks open for some dodgy characters to hide out here.
I do not have anything to hide so I support IDs for everyone.
Along with this system should be extensive background checks on both locals and who ever joins us here. We need to keep proper records.
Ever wonder why Cayman islands is the most expensive place to live in the world? Because it is run by fools.
That love to waste OUR $$$$.
Only a fool would think this is a good idea.
Why do I feel like I should be terrified by this news report?
– Who
:-/
Because you like to spread your bile semi-anonymously and without accountability?
Someone needs a girlfriend – like ASAP.
– Who
Sorry sweetie, you ain’t my type.
Eww – that’s a creepy comment. I feel like I need to take a shower after reading it.
Because you should be… we all should be.
Hell yeah! After a new Committee is formed to tackle the National ID Project that doesnt include members or Managers from the Licensing, Immigration or Elections Board we will commission a report of what and how to implement a National Licensing System!
If that’s the case can we make an all in one “Wotas ID, DL, Insurance, PADI, Debit/Credit, CoC, Camana Bay Card” something?
I thought Minister Rivers was in charge of General Registry, not Minister Hew.
I’ll lose it.
I lost mine already!
LOL
These morons need to start working on a proper national health insurance system and stop with this foolishness.
Great. A free national healthcare, with no way to ID those coming in or out. Real light bulb here
That’s one thing we do all have in the UK. National Insurance numbers.
Good news. It will however be hard to tell large numbers of “Caymanians” that they are not.
Even harder to explain why and how non Caymanians are registered to vote.
no doubt cig getting scammed again like they were for the number plates….
I still don’t have the new plate for my car. What makes anyone think this will work?
CCTV, fingerprinting system, CarePay, GasBoy…..keep it going folks!
It’s not a scam on the CIG if backhanders are paid on the crap contracts it issues. It’s a scam on the public.
YAY!! Let’s spend some more money!!!!!!!!!!! The H?
FIX THE DUMP!!! Oh. Wait. Dart’s gonna do that.
The CIG seems to have millions for everything but fixing THE DUMP.
Why? Why? Why?
Priorities, priorities, priorities.
6.28pm Stay up to date man.The Dump is getting fixed. A group of companies led by by Darts Decco group is getting the agreement to fix it.
5:40, You are obviously tuned in. Please enlighten us with more details and the timelines for action on getting The Dump fixed? How many times have we heard that someone is getting an agreement to fix the dump in the past 10 years? Sorry for being so cynical towards you.
We are one step away from having chips implanted in our brains.
I think there are a couple steps between ID cards and brain chips…but you go on living your life with unnecessary anxiety.
Just because you are uninformed and don’t know what is happening in this world doesn’t mean it’s not happening. Singularity is coming, and ignorance is bliss as they say.
https://www.neuralink.com/
Joey couldn’t find his way out of a wet paper bag, let alone oversee this.
BTW Joey – who is on the Public Transport Board these days? Why experience do they have and how much are they getting paid?
Mr. Who
1. This government cannot get garbage collected,
2. Failed to implement the finger print identification system at the airport that was paid for 5 years ago.
3. The license plate debacle and DVLD is fresh in our minds
And now you want to follow your JLP handlers in Jamaica with ID cards. Can you tell us Who will get the contract and how much will the drivers of this latest expensive mess get in deal?
Government = Caymanians
Who are you mad at for not getting these things implemented properly?
Chip and pin!
Will the database include members of the Lodge, too?
National ID cards would function as “internal passports” that monitor citizens’ movements. Least we forget “Your Papers, please.”
If its going to be shoved down our throats like the new license plates then there should be no charge for them just like the new plates. I have a choice if I want a license or passport or anything like that and I would pay for those but we would have no choice with these cards.
Just another money making scam like all the other bu$#s&it schemes they get brainstorms about
Mark of the Beast
Fix the Dump first.
Bam! I was wondering, as I read the story, how long it would take for someone to say that. …….. and there it is….. thanks for not disappointing 😀
Joe Hew wants to be next premier. What a mess. Stop making our lifes more complicated.
Honorable Hew is a very intelligent and forward thinking man, he will be a great premier as our current premier has been training him. You complainers need to leave our island and quickly! We love you Honorable Hew!
What makes him intelligent, in your opinion?
He wears a suit and speaks in complete sentences – mostly.
Shut up twins
Love Mom
I love when people say if you don’t like it you should leave. It sheds so much light on how the ill informed think a democracy works.
It appears that Minister has taken a chapter right out the text book of the JLP government in Jamaica, who recently tried to approved in the JLP led House of representative parliament, the introduction of a biometric card hand and National Identification system implant for the citizen of Jamaica. The result were: the PNP government took the approved decision to he Supreme Court in Jamaica where the system was struck down as it was believed to be unconstitutional and invasion of the privacy of the citizen of Jamaica. Wake up Cayman
Joey Hew is following the Jamaican model of politics in everything he says and does. Anybody that follows that brand of politics is bad for the Caymans
Well you know, you can take them out of Kingston but….
The sad thing is joey thinks he should be the next leader of the PPM which based on his track record is laughable. Only lodge can push him to the leadership role
Why is a special interest secret society allowed to operate here?
Because nobody will stop it. This is where the good ol’ boys consolidate the real power in Cayman. [They] have used it as a cloak for all kinds of skulduggery. Be afraid. Be very afraid.
They’ve started work on a “register of natural persons”, which I assume is opposed to “unnatural persons.” Consolidating those names with three different government agencies should be a breeze. Nyuk, nyuk, nyuk
With #JOEYWHO at the helm leading the project it is bound to be an expensive disaster again
“Hew said that the government had not yet made a decision on whether or not the public will be charged for the cards.” note to government we should not be charged for the cards as this should have been something that should have been implemented a long long long long time ago!
Lets not forget the all the duties we’ve paid over the years. They should take away the concessions given to developers to cover the costs.
Exactly. Imagine all these multi- millionaires and billionaires getting away free and he is spending his time jacking up prices for the residents and natives.
I need to go back to the Upside Down to understand these past two comments. Are you speaking in tongues or something?
2:53 where do Government money come from?
Idiot. No they shouldn’t have been done long time ago. It is an invasion of privacy.
Ever heard of Big Brother??
I just want Minister Hew to please scrap this idea before he goes further with it. Please do not jump to copy what is done in other countries that is unnecessary. I have a valid driver’s licence, I have the tracking drivers licence foisted on me unnecessarily, an election card and two passports which clearly identify who I am . This also apply to most people on island. I am retired and on a fixed income and I do not need Minister Hew or any other Minister coming up with stupid ideas to take away my few dollars. If he get get the cards printed with no cost to me I will oblige hm and take it from him but I cannot afford another bill. Instead please try to get a handle on the run away prices on this 2×4 Rock. Right now my electric bill has gone up by CI Dlrs 100.00, per month ,the water has increased by CI dlrs. 34.00 per month, groceries prices have gone through the roof and no matter how much I cut back I can hardly make ends meet. So Minister Hew, please bear in mind before you go creating another bill we all do not have your pay check and I might have to resort to joining those who line up by the LA waiting for a few dollars from you.. Also most importantly I do not want anyone tracking me down.
Let us not forget that the DVLA will soon be tracking our vehicles. The first reader will be on a gantry in South Sound.
Don’t expect to charge me for a card that I don’t currently need. I will never have the money to pay for it. Essentially one would have to put a check point in the system. Hey, you cannot interact with us after a certain date without an ID or police stop and frisk type ID CHECK. ???????
????!!!!!🤨
LOL, he should just use the new license plates…
I’ll have had my new plates for 2 years in November this year. My wife is still waiting to get hers. I don’t see why it’s so hard to clear the backlog of legacy plates. No surprise. I’m sure this national id card will go just as smoothly!!
Still waiting for my plates too.
Yes, they said they’d call me when they’re ready. That will be two years ago next month.