GEORGETOWN — A storm of fresh concern is building over whether the PPP/C Government can be trusted to manage the personal information of hundreds of thousands of Guyanese, as the European Union Election Observation Mission’s Final Report confirms that citizens received unsolicited political calls linked to the distribution of the $100,000 cash grants.
According to the EU Mission, personal data was misused for political gain, prompting a firm recommendation that Guyana pass and operationalise a Data Protection Act and establish a fully independent Data Protection Office to prevent any repeat of this behaviour.
VPAC says the recommendation was not abstract, it was triggered by what observers saw as the ruling party’s “disturbing willingness” to tap into private information during the election campaign. But even as these concerns grow, the Government is preparing to dramatically expand the scope of the data it intends to collect through its proposed E-ID system.
The digital ID will consolidate tax records, NIS contributions, employment status, residency status, immigration history, government-service access, private-service access, and nearly every transaction a person might need to function in society.
Once mandatory, the system would hand the State the largest, most sensitive database in Guyana’s history, and, VPAC notes, it would do so without a single independent safeguard. That combination, the group warns, is dangerous. VPAC argues that a Government already accused of politically exploiting limited personal data cannot be given unrestricted control over a far more invasive national database.
Without oversight, it says, there would be nothing to prevent political profiling, targeted intimidation, discriminatory denial of services, or “errors” that conveniently block citizens from accessing benefits or conducting business. “The PPP/C has already shown what it is willing to do with limited access to people’s information,” VPAC stated.
“We cannot afford to hand them the keys to every aspect of our lives without strict, independent, enforceable protections.” VPAC is now urging all legislators in the 13th Parliament to support the EU’s call for a fully empowered Data Protection regime.
The group says citizens must have the legal right to know who accesses their information, why, and under what authority, and that any political use of government-held data must carry automatic criminal penalties, without negotiation or delay.
“Guyana needs digital modernization,” VPAC said, “but if we get this wrong, we risk creating a system where one political party can monitor, profile, and pressure the population at will.”
