Household Transfer Management Project to introduce digital transactions
The government will be expediting the implementation of the Household Transfer Management Project (HTM) with the aim of introducing National Digital Identity (NDI), which will ensure that all financial and non-financial digital transactions to be transpired in a secure manner.
The NDI will have a unique number in all other relevant data bases namely – passports, tax file, customs documents, vehicle registration, voter registers, welfare registers, bank data bases, utility bills, etc, official sources said.
Apart from using it to enhance tax collections, it can also serve to regularise various other systems such as welfare payments which will help reduce corruption, delays, waste and enhance efficiency. Two committees will be set up to formulate a national policy on collection, storage, sharing and use of citizens’ personal data and to ensure the proper governance process for the proper implementation of the HTM project.
The Economic Management Committee has given its approval recently to set up the two committees and directions were given to all stakeholder organisations to extend their fullest support for expeditiously implementing the HTM project.
This decision was taken by the committee by considering the written submissions submitted by the Ministries of National Policy and Economic Affairs and Telecommunication and Digital Infrastructure, official sources said. The government’s digital strategy includes the introduction of the National Payment Platform (NPP) enabling the public to transfer funds from any of their bank accounts through the mobile phone for the payment of goods and services using their NDI. The NPP will bring in savings for the government by increasing efficiency thereby reducing cash movement and the cash float in the market.