ID Clarification Day

Gulf News has a 'your ID card questions answered' feature this morning.

I'm now listening to the radio, which has a full hour (apart from playing music in between the questions) with the EIDA Planning Director & Project Manager explaining the whole thing.

Is it all explained? Is it now clear? Are the problems solved?

You didn't really expect that it would be did you?

My favourite highlights from the Gulf News feature:

I am on vacation and unable to access the website due to heavy traffic. I cannot return before the deadline. What are my options and will I be fined?

"It is your responsibility to register before the deadline".

It has become impossible to find registration forms, or register on the website? Will I be penalised?

"It is your responsibility to register".

And I thought this was a very strange question:

What happens to the ID card if one dies after obtaining it?

Would you care?


And so on to the radio interview.

That's started with the fact that EIDA was completely ready in plenty of time and the chaos is all our fault. They "understood and anticipated the challenges" in introducing the system.

The details were: "Announced in July 2007 with ads in papers and information on the website" and that statement was simply accepted. Inevitably the obvious question wasn't asked: "Where did the ads appear? Where did you advertise the website details?"

It's confirmed that the ID requirement was originally announced as I remembered it: "All residents must register before the end of 2010"

(Then a few weeks ago the 'deadline' for professionals was suddenly given as December 31 this year, with threats of sanctions).

There was the question so many people are asking, in the last three or four weeks the website couldn't cope with the volume. "We were not surprised that people waited until the last minute"

Question. Exactly who are the 'professionals' who have to register by year end? Still no clear answer, just "degree holders and professional career people such as marketing/sales supervisor etc". But not a secretary in an office or a salesman.

So in other words, I think, a white collar worker at senior level. Still a bit vague isn't it.

Half way into the programme the claim that it's all our fault for not registering early has come up several times.

It's exactly as I assumed it would be. I can't be bothered with it any more, I'm getting more and more irritated so I've switched the radio off.


You can read the nonsense in Gulf News here.