GEORGETOWN, Guyana, CMC – The Guyana government has sought to reassure citizens that their data will be protected when the Electronic Identification (E-ID) programme is fully rolled out.
Attorney General Anil Nandlall, appearing on his weekly “Issues in the News” programme on Tuesday night, told viewers that the government would be piloting legislation in the National Assembly to ensure data confidentiality.
Nandlall said members of the population had nothing to fear when the programme becomes operational, even as some personal information will be required, but that the government intends to use the E-ID tool as is used in developed countries.
A preliminary rollout of the system is currently underway with some public servants. However, they have been asked not to provide any personal data.
Nandlall said that when the system is fully operational, all Guyanese will be obligated to be part of it.
“Once all the processes are in place and the personnel are in place and the mechanism to administer the full implementation of the legislation is in place, then the legislation will be brought into force, then these processes will be unfolded in accordance with the law, and then it becomes obligatory on every citizen to become part of the process.
Against that backdrop, therefore, the fears that I see being expressed by the APNU (opposition A Partnership for National Unity) and by some commentators are unfounded, without basis, and polluted by politics,” Nandlall said.
He told viewers that there will be a necessary legislative framework to regulate the use of data and the implementation of the digitization process, and that there is still a long way to go before full implementation.
He said the legislation requires centres to be established in every Administrative Region, and each Centre and Sub-centre will have to be equipped with personnel who are qualified and trained to collect the data, along with the requisite equipment.
“And I wish to assure you that the government is moving with every convenient urgency to ensure that the requisite mechanisms are in place, the human resources are duly qualified in place, the relevant are in place before the legislation is brought into force,” Nandlall said, dismissing the notion that the government will be using data for other purposes.
He said the government can already access some information through state agencies.
“What use would we make of your passport number? What use would be made of your driver’s license number? The government has access to that information. What the process is not taking from citizens is the type of information that is not deeply personal, and that data protection laws are passed to protect,” he said.
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