Officials seek big effort to process e-ID

 PUBLIC servants engaged in the electronic identification (e-ID) project have been urged to be more proactive during the nationwide awareness campaign.

The four-year K231 million project is expected to begin early next year.

Project director Roko Koloma and Huawei official Raymond Anthony told a Madang awareness workshop that concerted efforts by public servants were essential for the project’s success.

Fr Peter Hunter of the Anglican Archdiocese in Madang said it was a good initiative but asked Koloma and Anthony just how effective was the awareness campaign.

“You will be faced with various logistical problems to get information already available with village recorders or your own office,” Hunter said.

He said the rural people would find it difficult to understand the proposed ID system. 

“How sure are you that those you send into the rural areas without allowances are going to be doing the job effectively?” he asked.

Local businessman Duncan Seko, concerned that the card system was being given priority over more pressing needs of the people such as roads and basic medical services, said: “As good as this may sound, Papua New Guinea after 37 years is still struggling to have the most basic of services. 

“What is the ID card to the person still struggling to bring his produce to town, to the district that has no proper road service linking it and the hospitals that have no medicine?”

Gama LLG councillor Mark Kaihul commended the initiative but said illiterate people needed a simplified concept to understand the benefits of an identification card.