IfG.CC -
Institute for eGovernment

Reported in Trinidad Express, Dr Glenn Ramadharsingh – the Minister for Social Development – made the comments speaking to reporters after a United National Congress national executive meeting and specified that the new system will include a retinal scan.

Under suspicion that up to 80 per cent of the people to access government's TTCards in the five years did so fraudulently, Social Development Minister Cherrie-Ann Crichlow-Cockburn yesterday promised an audit into the programme.

Crichlow-Cockburn, in her contribution to the Budget debate in the Lower House, said the programme is to be revamped to fulfill its original intention of providing relief to persons in need.

Popularly called the “food card”, the former People's Partnership government had announced its intention to assimilate the TTCard into a biometric Smart Card programme that would help the elimination of fraud.

Cabinet has already approved an electronic system to follow the Biometric Smart Card which will monitor recipients of all social grants, case by case.

If Minister of the People and Social Development Christine Newallo-Hosein gets a second term in government, this system will be put in place soon after.

Newallo-Hosein made the statement on Thursday when asked to elaborate on the decommissioning of 4,000 people from the food card (Targeted Conditional Cash Transfer Programme) programme because of fraudulent activities.

According to the report, starting from June 17, the Turkmen State Migration Service starts issuing new biometric passports to Turkmen citizens with Russian passports as well.

The e-Gate system, which can be used by citizens 14 years and over with valid passports and registered biometric data, was officially put into operation at international airports in Taoyuan County, Taipei and Kaohsiung and at the Kinmen Seaport after trial runs.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) and the National Immigration Agency (NIA) yesterday jointly announced that a total of seven sets of the newly-introduced system will be first tested at the Shuitou Port (水頭港) in Kinmen, one of the entry-points for passengers making use of the Mini Three links.

Once the trial runs are successful in the outlying island, the scheme will later be expanded to two airports in northern Taiwan, Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport and Taipei Songshan Airport, and Kaohsiung International Airport in the south.

The e-gates are now available for inbound and outbound Republic of China passport holders aged 14 and older and at least 140cm tall at the three airports, expediting the immigration process, adding that passengers could still elect to go through manned checkpoints.

“The Executive Yuan has approved the ministry’s plan to use biometric identification technology at border control points and we will start collecting biometric information from visiting foreigners as well as from Taiwanese with no household registration information this year,” Deputy Minister of the Interior Hsiao Chia-chi (蕭家淇) told a press conference.

“This will better maintain border security and the safety of the public,” he added.

Taiwan Solidarity Union caucus whip Huang Wen-ling said at a press conference that Zain Dean, who was sentenced to four years in prison on drunk-driving charges, was able to leave Taiwan because the immigration agency botched the screening process.

The assurance was made in the Parliament yesterday by the Prime Minister, Mr Mizengo Pinda, when reacting to a question from the leader of the official opposition, Mr Freeman Mbowe.

But Mr Pinda refused to halt the process to give way to amendments of the law. This is in order that the process may be given a legal mandate as well as involve stakeholders, notably political parties, as requested by Mr Mbowe.

After completing the exercise in Ilala Municipality, Kinondoni Municipality will follow marking the end of Dar es Salaam Region and the beginning of the process in other regions. The highly anticipated IDs are expected to improve national security and criminal investigations as well as revenue collection and social services delivery.

Prime Minister Mizengo Pinda endorsing NEC’s proposal said: “It is meant to clear doubts that always overwhelm the country’s elections.”

Pinda was responding to a question by opposition leader in the House, Freeman Mbowe during the Premier’s Question Session.

The biometric voter registration system, which proved a success in the recent election in neighbouring Kenya, would go some way to ensure a fair election here at home. The National Electoral Commission has indicated that it is considering investing in that technology. It is a welcome move that will, to a large extent, ensure that no one fiddles with the outcome.

NIDA Public Relations Officer Thomas William told The Guardian that the exercise is scheduled for six weeks and will be completed in time reaching both Zanzibar and Pemba Islands.

He explained that the equipment being used in Zanzibar is modern and has helped speed up the registration process as well as taking of fingerprints and photographs.

The exercise will require applicants to have their fingerprints, images and signatures taken.

Speaking to The Guardian in an exclusive interview, NIDA Information Officer Thomas William said the agency is still in the preparations process of the exercise. “We have organised ourselves well and people will be notified before the commencement of the exercise though the media and other outlets,” he said.

This is the stage of collecting finger prints and photographing individuals.

However, the National Identification Authority (NIDA) Information Officer, Agnes Gerald, told The Guardian yesterday that there are more stages before Dar residents are issued with the IDs.

THE National Electoral Commission (NEC) has issued a seven-day ultimatum to non-citizens and people who registered more than once in the Permanent Voter Register (PVR) to turn up and surrender the voter cards or risk prosecution.

In a related development, the electoral body has handed over to the police force a list of 52,078 people with multiple registrations in the PVR through the Biometric Voter Registration (BVR).

Lessons from Tanzania in ID4Africa webinar

The number of people with legal, digital ID in Tanzania, backed by biometrics has increased by roughly 70 percent over the past five years, prompting an ID4Africa webinar to explore the lessons the country’s story may hold for other nations in Africa and elsewhere.

The latest ID4Africa livecast provided a country progress report ‘Spotlight on Tanzania’s Identity Ecosystem,’ prominently featuring Dr. Arnold Kihaule and Edson Guyai of the National Identification Authority (NIDA).