Is digital vax passport in SA a good move?

Last Sunday saw President Cyril Ramaphosa somewhat succumbing to pressure by various lobby groups calling for relaxation of some lockdown regulations. He proclaimed a move to adjusted level 2 with changes comprising, inter alia, extending operating hours for non-essential establishments to 10pm, permitting the sale of alcohol for off-site consumption on Fridays, and increasing public gatherings to 250 people indoors and 500 people outdoors, subject to venue capacity.

These changes were received with mixed reaction. Some regarded them as a move in the right direction as they might assist business recover from losses incurred thus far.

Others, however, deem this as rather premature amid the low vaccination rates and growing resistance in some parts of the country.

What had most people aggravated was the president’s utterances that the government is working on a plan for rolling out vaccine passports.

This was met with opposition, with most people viewing the announcement discriminating against those who don’t want to vaccinate, which might result in the infringement of their right to freedom of movement.

The introduction of passports was made on the premise that they are likely to be a global prerequisite in a post-covid-19 world, and as such, they ought to meet the benchmarks for Covid-19 immunity, be internationally standardised, verifiable and 100% secure in terms of personal data.

Various countries have since rolled out vaccine passports and health passes as proof of Covid-19 vaccination to enable people to resume normal activities.

The first country was Israel, which launched its Green Pass in February. China and Japan followed suit in May and rolled out passports for international travellers and other uses.

If done properly, these passports can enable governments to leverage the public health data gathered thorough digital technologies, such as the electronic vaccination data system in South Africa.

Amid growing resistance and various debates on the legality of these, the successful roll-out of a digital approach will be a positive step towards building a future-proof public sector.

Some critical aspects ought to be considered when creating a digitally enabled public sector, these include the adoption of a customer-centric approach that considers how a digital approach can enhance citizen’s needs, and how artificial intelligence can help deliver services to citizens without human intervention.

Success in this regard would brings new solutions to policy challenges.