Govt. begins rollout of E-ID card

Dec 02, 2025 News

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(Kaieteur News) – The government has officially begun the rollout of its new Electronic National Digital Identity Card (E-ID), beginning with the public sector.

According to the Ministry of Home Affairs, staff members within the ministry are currently being registered as part of the first phase. Employees are required to present valid identification, proof of address, and relevant civil status documents during enrolment.

The E-ID initiative stems from a 2023 agreement between Government of Guyana and German company Veridos Identity Solutions for a Single Electronic Identification System and accompanying ID cards. The US$35 million contract was facilitated by the United Arab Emirates (UAE), by Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed Al Maktoum.

Nearly two years later, registration has begun.

In October, Home Affairs Minister Oneidge Walrond announced that Guyana will fast-track the E-ID system to help address illegal entry through the country’s porous borders. She explained that the system will help monitor migrants, with E-ID cards distinguishing between citizens and non-citizens. The cards will integrate personal data into a secure digital and physical form for accessing both government and private-sector services. “Without this card, you [non-citizens] will not be able to access any services,” the minister emphasised. The E-ID will be linked to other systems, including the Taxpayer Identification Number (TIN), bank accounts, and immigration records, and will support digital and in-person transactions.

However, the opposition—A Partnership for National Unity APNU has raised concerns over the rollout taking place despite the Digital Identity Card Act and the Data Protection Act not yet being enacted.

On November 25, the APNU criticised what it described as the government’s “reckless and unlawful” rollout, warning that thousands of Guyanese are being registered without the legal protections intended by parliament. In a statement issued by APNU Member of Parliament Sherod Duncan, the opposition expressed alarm over Prime Minister Mark Phillips’ reported admission that Digital ID cards are already being issued although the key legislation remains inactive. Duncan added that this issue is part of a broader pattern, citing the government’s alleged misuse of citizens’ data, failure to operationalise the data protection act, and inadequate handling of election-related communications connected to the integrity of the digital identity ecosystem.

The APNU MP said, senior members of the government, including the vice president, have publicly announced that the digital ID will soon be mandatory for accessing government services, securing employment, opening and maintaining bank accounts, remitting money, and potentially for migrant registration and regularisation. Public servants form the first wave. The rest of the population will follow, under a regime that still lacks any active statutory protections.

“These developments raise unavoidable questions: Why is the rollout happening before the laws take effect? Why build the system now, but activate the protections later? Guyana is witnessing the rapid assembly of what experts describe as a “single spine of traceable identity,” linking employment records, banking information, cash-grant delivery, healthcare data, migration status, telecommunications metadata, and even inputs from the expanding national camera network. This unified identity infrastructure is being built without the legal architecture required to safeguard rights, prevent profiling, or ensure accountability,” the APNU MP said.

The National Assembly passed the Digital Identity Card Bill in 2023, to enable the full implementation of the digital ID system, which was tabled in the House by the Prime Minister, Brigadier (ret’d) Mark Phillips.

During the sitting, Attorney General and Minister of Legal Affairs, Anil Nandlall, S.C presenting the Bill in the Assembly outlined, “The Bill that is before us is to create the legal framework, the legal infrastructure that will govern the issuance, the operationalisation, the efficacy and the use of the card.”

He also stated that the digital identity bill will go hand-in-hand with the recently passed data protection bill.

The act establishes a registry for collecting identity data from citizens aged 14 and older as well as non-citizens, including skilled nationals of CARICOM states, and authorises the issuance of digital ID cards to enhance electronic governance and service delivery.

When tabling the bill, Prime Minister Brigadier (ret’d) Mark Phillips explained that it provides the legal framework governing the issuance and operation of the cards. Attorney General Anil Nandlall, S.C., further noted that the Digital Identity Bill is designed to work in tandem with the recently passed Data Protection Bill.

The government has stated that the digital ID cards will be manufactured using high-security materials and technologies to ensure durability, reliability, and resistance to fraud or tampering. They are expected to meet international standards such as those established by the International OrganiSation for StandardiSation (ISO) and the International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC).

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• e-ID card, National Digital Identity Card, Oneidge Walrond, rollout

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