In the proposed revamping process of the Mauritius National Identity Cards (MNIC) System, Government will also upgrade the System to a state-of-the-art one which will provide a wider spectrum of customised e-services thereby further facilitating the daily activities of citizens. Such Smart cards are already being used in countries like Belgium, Finland, Germany, Estonia and France.
Prime Minister Pravind Jugnauth told Parliament that wide consultations are presently being held with all concerned stakeholders. Considerable progress has been made with regard to the preparation of the specifications and the procurement strategy to be adopted on the basis of the existing MNIC system, procurement legislation, and the judgments of the Supreme Court and the Privy Council as well as the European Data Protection Supervisor Opinion 7/2018 of August 2018, he added. The new system is expected to be operational by December 2023, he stated.
He said there is need to revamp the MNIC system since the usual lifetime of such IT equipment is between five to seven years. Hence, after almost eight years of operation, it has become necessary to revamp the existing MNIC system as the current hardware and software of the whole system will soon reach their end-of-support and end-of-life, he said.