Final decision on ED Cards could be made in coming weeks

A final decision on which of the three firms government will go forward with regarding the implementation of the Electronic Embarkation/Disembarkation (ED) Cards could be made in short order.

An ED card, or Embarkation-Disembarkation card, is a mandatory online document that travelers must complete before entering certain destinations.

Technology Minister Melford Nicholas explained that a review will have to be made by his ministry before a final decision can be made by the Cabinet.

“The Ministry of Information Technology has to do the comparative evaluation to determine loss and value and get back to Cabinet within the next week or so that the final decision can be made on the move towards implementation,” Nicholas said on Thursday, during Post Cabinet.

Last week, Cabinet met with two other firms evaluating their proposals for the transition.

This follows another meeting the week prior with a different firm.

All three firms, in presenting to Cabinet, addressed the capability of better marketing, improved research capability, and identification of persons of interest from any police database.

The Customs and Excise Division, The Immigration Department, the Inland Revenue Department and Officials from the Ministry of Tourism and the Ministry of Finance were all present to evaluate the proposals and to help Cabinet determine which is the better-suited firm.

With the December 31st deadline fast approaching for the transition, a decision will more than likely come before the end of this month.

Several Caribbean countries have implemented this new form.

The Virgin Islands and Dominica were the most recent islands to step into the digital age. Both countries systems went live last month.

They join other islands like Aruba, Barbados, Bermuda, Curacao, St. Lucia, St. Kitts, Jamaica, The Bahamas, St. Maarten and the Dominican Republic.

Turks and Caicos and Trinidad and Tobago are presently working on their portals.