December 5, 2007
Good Morning.
Today's event is a very significant one for my Ministry and our Bahamas. In several ways it signifies both an end and a new beginning for us.
Firstly, today's event marks the culmination of many years of research, planning and development
(1) to upgrade our passport from just a simple paper document to a better and more secure document – a machine readable document with biometrics – the ePassport, and
(2) to upgrade our non-immigrant visa from a simple stamp in a passport to one that is more secure - a machine readable product.
Secondly, this event signifies a new beginning as we now embrace, with much courage, modern technology and processes that will propel us further ahead in our endeavours to keep pace with our evolving global village.
Thirdly, as a nation, we will experience a new paradigm shift in the way we conduct business; how we utilize our knowledge, skills and abilities; how we move about in the world.
We say farewell to the old and familiar systems and processes, as we welcome the new and technological innovative systems and processes.
Ladies and gentlemen,
as early as 1994, the Government of The Bahamas began exploring ways by which we could upgrade our current passports and other travel documents. By the year 2000, we had advanced our effort to the point where we entered into discussions with a number of companies regarding this matter. Finally, on 22 December, 2006, the Government of The Bahamas signed a contract with Indusa Global, a Greenville, South Carolina based information technology development and consulting firm, for the amount of 12.7 million dollars to provide four systems.
They are:
1. an E-Passport issuance system;
2. a Machine readable Visa system;
3. an E-Identification issuance system (smart cards for holders of work permits, spousal permits, home owners residence permits; permanent residence); and,
4. a Border Control Management System
In addition to these systems, there is also a supporting Key Management System for the generation and management of digital security keys for protecting and accessing the data stored in the passports and cards. The Key Management System is used to add security to The Bahamas passport chips and smart cards and forms the basis of authenticating that the e-Passport and e-Ids are in fact issued by The Bahamas Government.
This is an integrated project involving the Ministry of Foreign Affairs; the Department of Immigration, Ministry National Security; and the Data Processing Unit, Ministry of Finance. The ePassport and Machine Readable Visa Issuance Systems are components directly associated with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs; the E-Identification Issuance System and