EDITORIAL: Time to bring in the integrated electronic ID
Wednesday, March 13, 2019

This country is not only going cashless, but it is also on the verge of becoming paperless. It is quite evident that the speed with which change is coming, no one will be able to operate without leaving behind a digital footprint.

Bureaucracy is slowly taking the back bench as service delivery is revolutionalised. There is no bigger institution of paper pushers than the judiciary. It consumes huge amounts of ink and paper, is slow as a snail and not easy to monitor.

That situation is now history.

It was announced this week that the institution is going more hi-tech which will greatly impact the way justice is delivered, more than when the Integrated Electronic Case Management System was introduced in 2016.

People will be able to file their cases and pay for any services online. Plaintiffs will be notified via phone on the development of their cases and judicial officers will be closely monitored how they perform their duties. Goodbye paperwork.

Public transportation was the first to go paperless with the introduction of the Tap-and-Go cards; no tickets are issued and no cash transactions are permitted. A Tap-and-Go card has now become an essential part of people’s documents without which one will have to walk to their destination, drive their own car or hail a taxi.

Another new option is also being unveiled soon; Gura, a bicycle sharing services; simply tap a smart card at a docking station pick a bike and ride away. Transactions will be effortless.

Since paying a taxi with cash is also being relegated to the basket of history with the new ride-hailing services by firms such as Yego Cab and VW Move, it is time to resuscitate the shelved idea of having an integrated electronic ID with all our needs; payment systems, subscriptions and what not.