Dear Sir/Madam,
I read a presentation from the Registrar of Civil Status Division and
the Chief Health Statistician of the Ministry of Health about
"Innovations in linking civil registration and vital statistics to
identity management systems" [1]. Page 12 of the presentation [1] states that:
"In the coming months, other Government Organisations will exchange data
through this platform thereby reducing the administrative burden on
citizens and businesses."
According to Page 10, the Central Population Database Version 2
"enables the Civil
Status Division to share citizen's data with government agencies
through the Information
Highway". Page 13 states that the "Info Highway" will be extended
for the following purposes:
- The Ministry of Labour, to monitor registration of unemployed people.
- Ministry of Education, to facilitate admission in educational
institutions.
- Electoral Office, to verify list of valid voters.
- Mauritius Police Force, for National Security purposes.
- Mauritius Revenue Authority, for tax evasion.
- Independent Commission Against Corruption and Financial Intelligence
Unit, for ensuring a strong anti-corruption system and money laundering.
It was worrying to read about the above on a foreign web site instead
of a web site of the Civil Status Office of Mauritius as it seems
like the information was "hidden" from people in
Mauritius. Furthermore, the question which I thought about was
whether the purposes takes the country towards a surveillance society.
Does the collection and processing of data for the National Identity
Card fall under the purview of the Data Protection Office?
Is the data sharing by the Civil Status Office in compliance with
data protection principles? Should the citizen be made aware of the
purpose for which the data will be be used when he/she is asked for consent?
Regards,
S. Moonesamy
1.
http://undataforum.org/WorldDataForum/wp-content/uploads/2017/01/TA2.09_Ayelou.Mauritius-Presentation-Cape-Town-final-2.pdf
Received on Tue Mar 14 2017 - 20:08:30 PST