Experts engaged with the Ministry of Economic Affairs and the National Identification System (NIS) Committee agree that any national digital identification should function as “the one source of truth as proof of identity for transactions with public and private entities”, a statement from the Digital Transformation Unit (DTU) explained.
The question of how many identifications are enough to satisfy a business transaction has been a sore point in this country for some time.
National Coordinator for Information Technology Patrick Davis explained that legal teams are currently developing the legal framework for the national digital identity system “that will provide safety, reliability and the accurate authentication of identity information”.
According to the statement, the committee held a two-day workshop to engage the government and private sector stakeholders on the strategy for the implementation of a national digital identification system.
The statement added that international consultants Javier Preciozzi and Bernard Morvant presented digital identification system design concepts and findings to the government, based on a concept note they developed in 2021 articulating a vision and the priorities for a national digital identification system.
Another consultant, Satyajit Suri laid out the objectives of the project and the key considerations for designing The Bahamas’ digital identification project.
“While he expressed hope that implementation would be both agile and accelerated, he led a discussion on some of the key risks to the digital identification enrolment process and outlined the key milestones set for the next six months,” the statement said.
“The expert participants gave valuable feedback surrounding the accuracy and use of data across agencies that produce functional IDs, such as the Passport Office, the National Insurance Board and the Road Traffic Department.
“Ultimately, they were all in agreement on a national digital ID being the one source of truth as proof of identity for transactions with public and private entities, allowing users to prove that they are who they say they are.”
The statement explained that stakeholders also addressed concerns surrounding the protection of individual privacy and data rights, inclusion, the implementation of timelines and security.
