ID register will be optional in face of backlash

| 01/12/2022 | 141 Comments
Cayman News Service
Minister André Ebanks on For the Record

(CNS): The minister responsible for innovation, André Ebanks, has said that following feedback and concerns in the community about the new legislation supporting the long-awaited national identification programme, changes are now being made to the bills due to go before parliament next week. The most significant is a decision to make the population register optional. When the two bills were rolled out for public consultation, officials said that while having a card would be voluntary, registration of the resident population on the supporting system would be mandatory.

The government had planned to put every person’s name, date of birth, gender and status on that register, initially lifting the information from huge amounts of existing data at WORC, which has records on almost the entire population. The plan was then to use the General Registry to fill in the gaps of those Caymanians who have never done business with WORC or travelled out of the country.

Once the register was complete, people could then choose to apply for a National identity card with its own unique identity code, and it would be up to each applicant how much additional information they wanted to attach to the card and who could access it. This would then serve to gradually eliminate repetitive form filling, questions about status and the need for everyone to carry an armful of documents to verify their identity to public officials or private sector entities such as banks.

But the mandatory nature of the original supporting register has caused concern in the community and some people are worried about the digital nature of the proposed project.

“There has been a fundamental concern coming from individuals who don’t want to be in the register in the first place,” Minister Ebanks said when he appeared Monday on Radio Cayman’s For the Record. “They would like the freedom of choice, and that’s understandable.”

He said that over the last week or so, he and his team have been listening to those concerns, and a decision had been made that the register would also be optional. “This will give those people enough lead time that they will need… to give people a choice and allow it to happen organically,” he said. Ebanks added that he hoped this would see the register evolve organically and people would eventually sign up through choice rather than being compelled.

All it requires to change the original compulsory register to a voluntary one is to change the wording in the bills that states everyone “shall be registered” to everyone “may be registered.” As a result, the proposed legislation is now expected to be changed at the committee stage when legislators meet in parliament next week, making the whole of the programme completely voluntary.

Ebanks also confirmed that no one would be refused service by a government entity because they do not have a card. He explained that a clause in the bill referring to international obligations and information sharing would be completely removed as it was unnecessary and had been misunderstood. He said the data held on people signed up for the register and the card would be held by the government here in the Cayman Islands and not by the private sector or any overseas agencies. The registrar will also be a civil servant.

Another key amendment refers to potential increases in basic data held on the register of those that have signed up, as people transition to doing more and more online. The bills currently allow that to be increased via regulations. But Ebanks said he would be proposing to his colleagues that this be amended to require a change to the law via parliament if any future government wants to add to the basic data criteria from the current provision for name, date of birth, gender and status.

In most cases, that information is already held by numerous government entities. There are very few people in Cayman that do not have their name, date of birth, gender and status held by some government department. Many will also have much more information than that held by numerous public sector agencies, from Cayman Airways to the Needs Assessment Unit.

WORC holds the most significant amount of data on everyone who has gone through the immigration or work permit system, including Caymanian employers who have applied for a permit. It also holds everyone’s travel records. The Department of Vehicle and Drivers’ Licensing holds basic information and addresses of every driver and vehicle owner, while the Health Services Authority also holds the same basic information along with personal medical records of anyone who has ever paid a visit to the hospital or district clinic.

Nevertheless, the decision to introduce the nationwide ID programme has divided the community. Some do not trust the government to hold another information register, while others feel the project is well overdue as it will solve a whole host of current verification issues, making it much easier to do business with the government online.

Despite these planned amendments, the opposition has asked for the bill to be pulled, even though it was the last PPM-led administration that had moved the project forward. Deputy Opposition Leader Joseph Hew had presided over the procurement process to find the technology to implement the programme in January 2021.

Opposition Leader Roy McTaggart has requested the bills be withdrawn from the parliamentary agenda next week to allow more time for public consultation. He said he has written to the minister to ask for more time because, despite the government’s attempts to educate the public, the concerns are not going away.

Some public concerns arise due to misunderstanding, but some are valid and need attention,” he said. “Given the importance of these bills, the government should allow an extended public consultation period. My colleagues in the opposition also share that view. An extended public consultation period will help ensure that all valid concerns are aired and considered. It can also allow the public to become more familiar with and understand the purpose and benefits of both pieces of legislation.”

The opposition leader said the success of this project depends on getting it as right as possible at the start and ensuring the public trust in both the register and the ID cards.

As of Wednesday afternoon, there had been no indication from the minister that the bills will be withdrawn as he believes the necessary changes to alleviate any further concerns can be handled through the committee stage. However, if the bill passes, there are plans for further public education about the legislation and the system before it is implemented

The public has until next Tuesday evening to submit further comments about the legislation to the ministry or their MP.

See the bills and the ministry’s briefing about the bills in the CNS Library.

See Ebanks and his ministry team on Radio Cayman below:


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Category: Laws, Policy, Politics

Comments (141)

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  1. Real Talk says:

    Yeah, let’s not make this National ID thing mandatory or having to provide all information or especially requiring one to have a “Card” on person BECAUSE THIS WHOLE PLAN OF A NAT’L ID REGISTER COULD BE USED TO HELP WEED OUT THE SCORES OF ILLEGALS WE HAVE HERE. NOPE CANT LET THAT HAPPEN, NO WAY BOBO!!

    Probably where some of the backlash is coming from. Just saying.

    Side note: Jamaicans are now quietly calling the Cayman Islands, “The Promise Land” for them.

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  2. Truth says:

    The only God Damn people that don’t want the ID’s are the idiots that ARE NOT suppossed to be here and criminals.

    With the introduction of ID’s all the scamming crap will end.

    simple truth.

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    • Anonymous says:

      Sorry, not true. completely law abiding citizen here with more than enough ID already. Don’t trust government with my data or my privacy. But I do think the ID cards are good for anyone lacking government ID as they clearly need it fir banking and other services, access pensions, do business, etc.

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    • Bee says:

      “If you’ve nothing to hide you would have no problem” the old clichés are the best.

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    • Anonymous says:

      Why won’t you implant a chip since you have nothing to hide?

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    • Anonymous says:

      You watch a lot of CNN i bet.

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    • Real Talk says:

      You have precisely the right thoughts on this one dude, so besides *03/12/2022 at 12:49pm* making a valid point, don’t let these other trolls let you doubt yourself for one minute. Real Talk

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  3. Anonymous says:

    Who does the Opposition want to postpone this register for? The Caymanian or expat criminals? The non-Caymanian residents that do not vote?

    Who?

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    • Anonymous says:

      The “Caymanians” who cant prove they are such and have been reaping the benefits who fear they will lose same with registration

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  4. Anonymous says:

    I’m just sad that by far our most capable minister is wasting his time with this nonsense.

    But what if you lose your passport? You get a replacement. Same as if you lose this card. Absolutely pointless.

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    • Just Sayin says:

      Andre May be capable but certainly lacks judgement. He should have delayed the introduction till the end of January and ensure as far as practical he allowed more discussion and relevant change. Then implemented the amended mandatory register. The Opposition is correct.

      To make the register voluntary will possibly doom the entire project. Bad judgement all around.

  5. Anonymous says:

    ID register will be optional in face of backlash. So were Covid 19 vaccines, but if you did not have one you had restrictions.

    Will this be the same way?

    Something to consider.

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    • Anonymous says:

      Obviously there will be restrictions, or rather, inconveniences where you will have to provide redundant documentation to (at a minimum) government units, amongst other things.

      This will also dampen any opportunities and interest for integrated or subscribed access by private sector entities for KYC purposes.

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  6. Yea I said it... says:

    In the grand scheme of things, THIS (along with other foolish headliners of things they are ‘going to do’) is what they feel is a priority??
    The cost of living is getting worse by the day! NOT ONE person from the Govt has spoken out about what the Govt is doing to remedy this or educate its people on what’s to come – NOTHING!
    The Premier sent an ‘I guess if I must’ Whatsapp voicenote about traffic because he claims to have been stuck in the same. I can guarantee if he was not in the traffic he would not have sent the message. He is the representative of Newlands and his constituents sit in this same traffic each weekday and he has not thought to look at a solution; but cleverly word his voice note to pass blame on to someone else for the traffic woes of that night?

    SPARE ME WITH THIS ENTIRE CABINET!!!!!!!

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  7. Actually says:

    Check Facebook for the list of Bills coming to the House next week. There are several and they are all up for public consultation as we speak.

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    • Anonymous says:

      If true, isn’t that a sad, sad thing that the place to discover Parliament bills is FaceBook. 🙁

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      • Real Talk says:

        I’m a multi-generational Caymanian and the saddest thing in my life is to be one. Seeing what our foolish, spineless and selfish successive Governments have done TO as well as NOT done for the local Caymanians. It’s been painful to watch.

  8. Anonymous says:

    Ahh…
    Is a social security number voluntary for United States citizens? Same concept. In Central America citizens nor residents can vote, get a passport, do any business transaction, go to a hospital or even get a job, without that card – and the system has been in place for umpteen decades. Making it optional is a TERRIBLE idea.

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  9. Anonymous says:

    The system isn’t optional, only your choice on whether to apply for a card.

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  10. Anonymous says:

    India’ Adhar card is also voluntary. It is impossible to survive in India without a digital id Adhar card. You need the Adhar card for banking, employment or for any sort of service such as refilling your propane gas or recharging your mobile. All service providers use the Adhar card for due diligence and deny service without it to resisents.

    So while CIG says the digital ID is voluntary the private sector could deny service without a digital ID.

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  11. Anonymous says:

    Let us take look at the voluntary method that could become mandatory. Let us say, I want to be voluntary and is seeking employment, let us say the employers state no ID card no employment. Let say I’m not feeling well and go to HSA and they ask for your new ID card, no ID card no service. Can you see how “voluntary” can become “mandatory”?

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    • Anonymous says:

      Yes, which is why the words of Minister Ebanks carry very little weight.

    • Anonymous says:

      Like vaccination during COVID….

    • Resident says:

      As with most things, there are consequences to your choices.
      It still wouldn’t be mandatory, you would just be excluded from certain services and opportunities which you surely would have fully understood by choosing to not accept the ID or very inconvienient to do business otherwise.

      If the Government says that it is voluntary then the Government cannot deny services without it but they can make it as inconvenient for you as possible.

      Government doesn’t control what private sector companies do.

      It is highly unusually to have the amount of people with the same name and birth dates living in the same place as the Cayman Islands do.
      How does one go about uniquely identifying them and verifying the correct person has been billed/paid/summoned/arrested etc.
      How many Boddens, Ebanks, Powerys are there on this island?

  12. Anonymous says:

    Huge mistake making this voluntary. People on this island too short-sighted to see the benefits.

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    • Anonymous says:

      It isn’t the benefits that are a problem. Its the fact that your personal information can get in the hands of elected officials, that are not bound by public service agreements or a code of conduct.

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      • Anonymous says:

        They should be bond by the Data Protection Act. We will have to sign something to approve the circumstances that our data is used. XXXX
        I’m certainly not a proponent of the ID system, but Data Protection Act should stop abuse of the information on the system. Certainly there would be recourse for the public if there was any abuse.

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  13. Anonymous says:

    I heard a local company bid 4 mil.
    So they gave it overseas for 8 mil.

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  14. Anonymous says:

    Applying for a physical National Identity Card that corresponds to your cross government ID is the only part of this that is optional. What’s in your wallet?

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  15. Anonymous says:

    Optional ID cards! As useful as a chocolate fireguard.
    I can see all the criminals and ne’erdowells rushing to get theirs…

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    • Anonymous says:

      I’m all for the proposed change to optional it’s logical and makes sense.

      We helped a young Caymanian trying to access his old pension pot during COVID but because his passport had expired and he didn’t have a drivers licence the Chambers refused to assist. Too proud to go to NAU he somehow made it through, but here’s one example of where the optional ID card would work.

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      • Anonymous says:

        As would renewing his passport.

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        • Anonymous says:

          Presumably he wasn’t able to renew his passport during the pandemic (as many were not), which is what 8:08pm was getting at.

          Although the chamber should have still have allowed him to use the passport given the restrictions of the pandemic.

      • Anonymous says:

        Renewed or not, a passport says the same thing and should be an acceptable form of ID.
        Except of course for overseas travel.

      • Curious says:

        I never understood why an expired passport or driver’s license is not accepted as identification unless you are presenting a passport with a baby photo and you are an adult, what is the problem?

        Is it still not the same person in the photo?

        Was it not once a valid Government issued document?

  16. Anonymous says:

    Thanks for listening Minister Ebanks.

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  17. Anonymous says:

    This is so bizarre to me. I understand when people have privacy concerns about their data etc.

    But…in what world would you want your DOB and citizenship etc to NOT be captured by some relevant and secure government database? What if you lose all those pieces of paper that show you’re Caymanian?

    Determining that you’re Caymanian is done by several different paths depending on what year you are looking at there is a different prescription for doing it and some are paper intensive; what if those records are compromised?

    What do you stand to gain by not being in the registry?

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    • Anonymous says:

      but they already have that information so all they had to do was buy the software to sync the various departments

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    • Anonymous says:

      Its not the data that’s in the database NOW that’s the issue, its what WILL be added in time, in the future. Are you 100% sure medical records won’t be added to this system?

  18. Anonymous says:

    It was the CHIP. And what it could morph into.

    We all have ID cards/passports/etc/similar. None of them (Nor the vehicle identity licences) have ever been spoken about in conjunction with potential to store health and financial information.

    That’s the deal breaker. If you don’t have any concerns about the power of authority regarding your health and financial information, you’re asleep.

    See China. See others. There is a global movement towards cbdc’s and limit all travel based on health (not just covid19). Whether in the name of saving the planet one airplane at a time, or saving bankruptcy one FIAT currency at a time, it all starts and ends with Digital National IDs and their eventual morph into a global register

    Sounds insane and conspiratorial, doesn’t it?

    And yet, its happening. Right now. this push back will be seen as no more than a bump in the road for the WEF (how many Cayman MP’s and Civil Servants are tied with the WEF?).

    if you’re happy to go along with it, off ya go. But if you think you should be allowed to determine your own future spending and travelling and basic living – keep questioning.

    Your children’s children will thank you

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    • Anonymous says:

      what is the “WEF” that you reference?

      • john says:

        World Economic Forum.

      • Anonymous says:

        there’s this thing called Google….

        • Anonymous says:

          Google is run by AI it will give you different results based on location and history. You can try it yourself. Use a VPN to place your IP in a different country and search for the same thing. It doesn’t give you results on what you search for, it gives you results based on what it ‘thinks’ you should know

  19. Anonymous says:

    Dear Minister. The next necessary change is to make it illegal for companies (much less CIG depts) to require this voluntary ID of persons applying for work or services from them. If it is not mandatory for me to have it then its use cannot be mandatory. All forms of valid ID must remain valid for use. Otherwise people will be disenfranchised for choosing to not participate in a voluntary programme and that cannot be right either. Thank you.

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    • Anonymous says:

      So as an employer I should just accept your claim that you are Caymanian, even though you have consciously chosen not to register where the government could confirm your claim – I should just believe you, right?

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      • Anonymous says:

        We all have to provide that info to get a job. If you want the job, why wouldn’t you take up the option of getting the ID?

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        • Anonymous says:

          How do you think Caymanians are proving it now? I have had no issue providing documents to employers to prove I am a Caymanian

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          • Anonymous says:

            Really? Which ones? Because a lot of people think a passport or voter registration prove you are Caymanian – they don’t.

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            • Anonymous says:

              Mine does, Caymanian as of right endorsement

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            • Junius says:

              Proof of Caymanian status, whether Caymanian as of right or by grant, is via the stamp in your passport or the letter from the Chief Immigration Officer confirming same.

      • Anonymous says:

        no, you can simply continue to get notarized copies of legacy ID…passport, status letter etc that you accept now

        • Anonymous says:

          Right and a status letter can’t be photoshopped and then notarized by a friend who doesn’t know that you forged it?

      • Anonymous says:

        That argument just doesn’t make sense. You can still use the methods before to check Caymanian/work permit status. That wouldn’t go away.

        If someone presented you a national ID card, how would you the employer be able to authenticate that? I’m sure there will be bogus ID cards that people make for this very purpose. I don’t think the employer would have access to the database that proves you are Caymanian. So I think you still will want to see original documents to confirm status.

    • Anonymous says:

      Nonsense.

      It is not mandatory for you to have a degree in accounting. However, an employer can require you to have a degree in accounting if you want to work for them.

      Employers require all sorts of things which are not mandatory. You can choose to seek employment with them or not. Everyone is free to choose.

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  20. Anonymous says:

    Excellent. It is now voluntary. So a few more changes naturally have to follow.

    Make it voluntary for offices to use it. Why pay to revise processes and hardware (new card readers for everyone) for a system that only some unknown % of your customers will use? That’s a waste of money.

    Make it illegal for private companies to require you have a voluntary national ID for employment or services. Since its voluntary they shouldn’t allow people to force you to use it.

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    • Anonymous says:

      No different from companies requiring you to show proof of Covid19 vaccination. The shot was voluntary, but some employers (& countries) made it mandatory.

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  21. Anonymous says:

    another glorious day for the civil service….and more money down the drain

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  22. Anonymous says:

    Okay, in that case, just cancel it and save the money.

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  23. Anonymous says:

    Same people crying for privacy, willingly give all their info to their favorite social media app then share their every thought and action on the internet. make it make sense.

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    • Umm... says:

      The key word is “willingly”.

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      • John says:

        Not really “willingly” more “have no choice”. Did you know that 75% of websites use Google Analytics and a third have Facebook trackers on their pages. They hoover up your private information whether you are willing or not. And without ever needing a Facebook account.
        Open up a page of the Wall Street Journal for example and there are 26 trackers on the page.
        All done to create personal data to sell to companies.

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  24. Anonymous says:

    Got my chip already thanks.

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  25. Anonymous says:

    #Democracy. Pressure busspipe. Well done Minister!

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  26. Anonymous says:

    LOL! Oh my aching sides…a few Luddites object and the government (term used loosely) pee their pants again. We really are an island of absurdity.

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  27. Anonymous says:

    Why were we told in a workshop that the data would reside on servers in Spain?

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    • Anonymous says:

      Don’t you mean that Cayman’s tourism depends on servers from Spain?!

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    • Anonymous says:

      01 @ 12:18 pm – Spain? No big deal. Airports Authority’s servers used to be in the back room of a non-existent dentist office in Barbados. Probably still are.

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  28. Anonymous says:

    The acceptance will be in the hands of the civil service via their interactions with their clients. If the interaction processes flow smoother and quicker when the card is used then more and more residents will take up usage at an increasing rate. I will be one of the early adopters. Nothing to hide and everything to gain. Let’s discuss again in 10 years.

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  29. Anonymous says:

    What about those of us who would like to have multiple IDs?

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  30. Anonymous says:

    Lol. This is just crazy. Why don’t they use some of those funds to fix the issue of Ghost Caymanians which they have created.

    The ID system won’t be effective if the current issues aren’t addressed.

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    • Anonymous says:

      No-one created Ghost Caymanuans bu themselves and their parents. They thought they could beat the system like they usually do. They have been given more than one Amnesty to regularize their Status and didn’t so should now be told to leave.

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  31. Anonymous says:

    I am struggling to imagine the downside of this project. That said, I’m not certain that I see a huge benefit. Certainly there are those who otherwise lack identification that would benefit, and that’s good enough for me.

    If the concern is for the security of personal information, I think that is a valid concern. If a person can choose the information attached to the card, I don’t see a problem, and perhaps it should be mandatory, so as to identify gaps between our various CBC systems.

    I am a Caymanian by virtue of Caymanian Status granted on the basis of my parents being born here. Decades ago, my U.S. passport was stamped with the Caymanian Status emblem, and along with voter ID card and my drivers licence, I’ve needed no other. If there are those who need more, we should provide it.

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    • Anonymous says:

      I wonder if this proposed register is inconsistent with GDPR and that is why the public backlash so easily made CIG switch to making it voluntary?

      I don’t trust that our data will be kept safe tbh. Every day you go on CMR and they have a story that starts with “well placed sources in [ ] have informed us that…” Lots of countries have similar registers but I don’t have faith in our ability here to really protect peoples data.

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      • Anonymous says:

        Government realizes that it will get lots of resistance and that, if it is mandatory, it will definitely be unconstitutional.

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      • Anonymous says:

        The fact that you read CMR (every day?) and believe what you read, invalidates your comment.

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      • Anonymous says:

        We have the Data Protection Act, which is our response to GDPR. They would have an obligation to hold our information only for the purposes to which we agree.

        I still do not necessarily agree with the ID system, but there is recourse should our information be abused.

        Not a PPM fan, but I agree with Roy on this one, that they clearly need to do more public consultation and explanations.

  32. anon says:

    How many millions of dollars have been spent on this project, when as a result of this monumental change to voluntary registration there may well be only a few hundred registering?.

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  33. Anonymous says:

    So, the register isn’t worth the paper it’s written on because our politicians are snivelling cowards that only care about votes. Sounds about right.

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  34. Anonymous says:

    Clearly the people who don’t want this are not legally allowed to be here!!

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    • Anonymous says:

      and the award for dumbest comment goes to…..did you listen to Radio Cayman last week? Both guests are (generational) Caymanians and a number of other people calling in and contributing concerns to our MPs are unquestionably Caymanian.

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    • G says:

      Lol you’re so silly. That is obviously not the case.

    • Anonymous says:

      Your assumption is inaccurate 11:27am.

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    • Anonymous says:

      And it’s equally clear that a lot who want it have no clue of their legal and human rights.

  35. wtb says:

    what is the point if its optional?
    If you feel it’s necessary and can make those points useful then make it mandatory, otherwise forget it.

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  36. Brigitte says:

    “However, if the bill passes, there are plans for further public education about the legislation and the system before it is implemented”.

    If they already know that they need to do more public education AFTER the bill passes, then why pass the bill? What is the rush?

    Is it because the cards have already been purchased? Mr. Charles Brown stated on “The Resh Hour” last week, “procurement of cards has already been done and we have the ability to print them on island. If government supports this in Parliament we will be able to deliver quite quickly.”

    Again, what is the rush? Other than the cards being purchased, what additional purchases or contracts or promises have been given to support the backend of this ID system? The Minister has said that our data will remain within our borders. How does he know this? The government is obviously further along than they have led the public to believe. And just because they will keep the business within our borders, it does not stop the firm/s that they are working with to from contracting our data out to a third party, off-island. The proposed bill allows them to do this and the Request for Proposal makes it clear that our data can/will be farmed out.

    Genuine public education is needed now. Not after the bill has passed. We need town hall meetings.

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    • Orrie Merren 🙏🏻🇰🇾 says:

      Very good points, Brigitte. Unfortunately, meaningful-broad public consultation has been a failure of successive governments (including this one).

      Sometimes, it appears, that public consultation is a farce and is CIG only goes through the motions without taking into account insightful feedback — it’s seems to play the “box checking exercise”, which is a form over substance approach.

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      • Anonymous says:

        I disagree. This general topic has been in the works for years and has had ample opportunity for stakeholder engagement and discussion. Nobody has been blindsided or given insufficient time to review, we just don’t like any change once it’s at our doorstep.

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        • Anonymous says:

          Yes this has been ‘in the works’ and every public engagement has been met with the response of ‘this does nothing we need or want’ but they keep pushing ahead spending money on it.- want to prove me wrong? Ask government to publish the results of the “stakeholder engagement” you say they have had.

          Want to give IDs to people who don’t currently have them? Just change the backdrop on the driver’s licence and print ‘not valid to drive’ on the category (what other countries do). Cost about $10 in cloth (well, $30 for the three licencing locations).

          Need to be able to properly document people’s residency/nationality status, i.e., no more ghost Caymanians? Just conduct that exercise. Since the national ID was just going to pull the information from CBC the National ID is NOT needed to achieve this.

          So the National ID does nothing they either don’t already need to do or already can do for a whole lot less cost. Rendering it … unneeded and undesired. A solution in search of a problem. Or maybe a product salesman in search of a sucker, I mean customer.

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        • Anonymous says:

          Have you actually read either Bill? Let me guess, you don’t have time….but you’re quick to criticize those who have read it and have the right and responsibility to question it.

          If you took the time to read the Register Bill in particular you’d see that the simple ‘fixes’ alluded to (in Sections 3 and 5) still leave this legislation wide open to breaches in privacy and data protection.

          And here’s a little tidbit though I know how we love to be in our little Cayman bubble; Jamaica Supreme Court in 2019 declared Digital ID unconstitutional….”The new system, they found, went beyond identification of persons to a repository of biographical information that could potentially serve as digital surveillance.”

          https://dig.watch/updates/supreme-court-declares-jamaica-digital-id-unconstitutional

          A few simple changes to make it sound voluntary is not a fix when there is NOTHING in this Bill (that cannot be misinterpreted or willingly twisted) which safeguards any person NOT registered or with the ‘voluntary’ ID card to be DENIED services or products from either a public or private entity. Nor is such denial by either entity considered an offense in the expansive Section on ‘offenses’.

          Please read the Bills before spouting uninformed opinions and misleading others.

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  37. Wtf? says:

    Oh boy. Another stupid idea. Lets have a national register, but it’s optional if you want to sign up. What? Then just don’t create the national register. This makes no sense.

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  38. Anonymous says:

    WORC does not have accurate information. There are literally hundreds of persons who are not Caymanian claiming benefits and receiving them as if they were – all because of gaps in the systems. We should be very careful to deal with this and to stamp out the widespread abuse of our immigration systems.

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    • Anonymous says:

      Employ one officer for a year to interview each of those persons and go through the qualification exercise. It is not difficult (cut off the benefit if they can’t be found) and it would cost a whole heap less than the way we are proposing to go about it. Lack of accountability in job performance is something we really need to be looking at.

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    • Anonymous says:

      Fair enough. But the National ID will just pull WORC data so the national ID will do nothing to solve this problem.

      Fix the problems with the WORC register, whether it is people claiming benefits who do not qualify as Caymanians or ghost Caymanians who cannot qualify as Caymanian, and stop messing around with a National ID which just spits out IDs based on bad information. (Making it look pretty doesn’t make it right.)

  39. Really... says:

    “Public trust” – NEVER gonna happen with Government involved.

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  40. Not on your Nelly says:

    The reception of this technology would have been much different if CIG had integrity but incompetence rules and when someone slips there are no consequences. CIG will only get the bare minimum of what they need from me in my day to day dealings with them and that’s all.

    After all what more do they need if one already has as CIG-net account which is used by multiple departments including WORC and Customs? This redundant scheme is obviously overkill and smacks of someone gaining a stripe and or a kickback for buying into it.

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  41. Orrie Merren 🙏🏻🇰🇾 says:

    Changing registration under the Identification Register Bill 2022 to being voluntary (ie, “may be registered”) instead of obligatory (ie, “shall be registered”) is a prudent move.

    This should alleviate certain issues concerning provisions that, inter alia, appear to be incompatible with fundamental privacy rights (s.9(1), Bill of Rights; art.8(1), European Convention on Human Rights) and, therefore, being unconstitutional and unlawful (contrary to s.24, Bill of Rights).

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    • Anonymous says:

      yeah but there’s nothing in the Bill prohibiting public or private entities from providing services or goods to those who DON’T volunteer.

      This is the same tricky ‘choice’ as the covid shots; you dont have to take them….unless you want to participate in society..work, travel etc..but you get to CHOOSE lol!

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      • Anonymous says:

        Stay, as distracted resident sheep, in the matrix, which is design to keep you controlled as a slave in the rigged system.

  42. Anonymous says:

    Why did the conspiracists kick back so hard at this but digital ID somehow the digital RFID tracking of their license plates / movements is going on without protest?

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    • Anonymous says:

      You think that abandoned project is working 🤣

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    • Anonymous says:

      People did speak up against that but they still when ahead and enshrined it into law and added a stipulation to criminalize you and fine you a fee of up to $10000 for refusing to use one of those plates on your car.

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    • Anonymous says:

      because my license plate cant block my bank account

    • Anonymous says:

      Yeah, that was my objection to the plates years ago when they announced it. Looked at manufacturers specs on website which bragged about the chip’s big brother capabilities.

    • Anonymous says:

      Tracking rfid plates is just tracking rfid plates, not who is in the vehicle.

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  43. Anonymous says:

    C.A.V.E. – Caymanians Against Virtually Everything

    The conspiracists like DW and KA really blew this one out of proportion by equating it to receiving the mark of the beast and that this would allow government to confiscate your money. Really and truly guys, take a chill pill please.

    Government ALREADY has all this info on you! If you’re a registered voter literally anyone can query what your street address is too, foofools!

    It’s just a consolidation to make processes more efficient, but unna wan us stay in the 1980s where everything was snail-paced and done on paper, not digital.

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    • Anonymous says:

      A compulsory registration. Currently I can choose not to get a driver’s licence, choose not to register to vote, and keep my expired passport (no travel during COVID) for when I need to prove identification for some reason.

      Even for a person with voter & driver & passport those databases are housed separately. Meaning that a data corruption/breach in one does not kill the other three. (Plus of course General Registry of your birth.) When they have the single National Identification (pulling from those disparate information sources) a single hack of the ID system takes down the entire system because your unified ID will no longer point to you and good luck proving that the computer is wrong.

      (Don’t believe its hard to prove the computer is in error? See any BBC report on the UK Post Office ‘horizon’ computer system scandal where their own postal officers were literally sent to jail because the computer said so.)

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    • G says:

      Shut up! You really think some silly ass card is going to somehow fix everything? CIG will still be snail paced – hate to break it to ya.

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  44. Anonymous says:

    Greatest opposition no doubt from those who like to say they are Caymanian, but technically are not. Register would have brought that to a conclusion.

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  45. Anonymous says:

    There are more than enough loose cannons and entrepreneurs in CIG that we should assume this comprehensive database, which ought to be firewalled, will be eagerly exported, sold and distributed, if it’s not first hacked by ICIJ, tax crusading NGOs and rogue states. Bad enough that the telecoms sell our mobile numbers.

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  46. Anonymous says:

    I’m not one for a registry like this due to the potential of mismanagement. I mean, CIG is unable to manage anything efficiently or effectively, but I cannot deny the conveniences this system hopes to bring.

    A simple gesture by the ministers to not making this mandatory is appreciated. I hope it remains voluntary in the future as time progresses but we will see about that when the time comes.

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    • Anonymous says:

      If it were to go from voluntary to mandatory, there will be massive resistance and Minister Ebanks and the PACT should expect that political consequence of voting them out of office.

  47. Anonymous says:

    spineless fool…. makes the whole process pointless.
    welcome to wonderland.

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  48. Anonymous says:

    If registration is mandatory, then changing “shall” to “may” is irrelevant. The only optional aspect of this program is whether an individual wants a physical card in their wallet that corresponds to the cross-government file that will be opened regardless. Good luck to all of the drug dealers and unregistered economy participants. Taxes seem to be on their way.

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    • Anonymous says:

      Read the above news article. You will noted that it is not going to be mandatory now.

      • Anonymous says:

        The physical card is optional and also moot. The cross-govt system is definitely going ahead per the article. They have your photo already, so don’t need your card. State your name, DOB…there you are…

  49. QAnon says:

    Great decision Minister Andre Ebanks

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  50. Anonymous says:

    What a complete waste of resources. We all know from experience that this will NEVER work as intended as CIG’s track record shows this.

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