[kictanet] Beba Pay card and national biometric registration: The big brother syndrome

[Mwendwa Kivuva]

Mark, this looks very similar to the London Oyster card which is RFID
based. I presume there are many card systems in London but the Oyster
is most popular. Registration of the card is not mandatory but as from
July, you cannot travel on the Overground bus network with cash. The
card costs £5 and you prepay upto around £90. They have many packages
in the card like Student pass, pay as you go, freedom pass, weekly
pass, monthly pass E.t.c. each with different discount options.

The card is valid on the National Rail, underground, overground,
trams, and river services, with substantial cheaper fares than paying
cash. It is estimated that 99% of Londoners use this card to travel.

Registration of the card has the added advantage of protection from
loss. Imagine losing a card with £90 which is the maximum you can load
on the Oyster.

What I find interesting thought is the Freedom pass on the Oyster card
given to people over 65years or the disabled to act as a free travel
pass.

On 13/07/2014, Mark Elkins via kictanet <kictanet at lists.kictanet.or.ke> wrote:
> In South Africa, in order to use the Gautrain, you need to purchase a
> Gautrain Card and then put credit on it.
>
> The Card itself is about R10 ($1). It contains no personal ID
> information. However, I presume a fair number of people add credit
> straight from their Credit Card... so it's technically possible to track
> the Identity of the Card to the person who buys the credit. The same
> Gautrain card is also used to enter/exit the railway parking garages. No
> idea if cameras are used in the transaction. (The parking Entry/Exit
> camera's at OT Airport *do* record your car registration - so the entry
> ticket number plate has to match the same registration plates on exit -
> ie Number Plate recognition is in use.)
>
> Anyway - the Gautrain is technically Cashless - except "recharge"
> systems are available to top up your cards at the station entrance.
>
>
> On Sun, 2014-07-13 at 09:31 +0000, Grace Githaiga via kictanet wrote:
>> Let's start with the much hyped "beba pay" system. Having travelled
>> numerously to America, Canada, South Africa and a few countries in
>> Europe, I must inform Kenyans that they have been duped. No country in
>> the world has imposed restrictions on their citizens using cash money
>> to pay for transport services.
>>
>>
>>
>> Track your every move
>>
>>
>> The only thing that is done with regard to enforcing the use of cards
>> is that special discounts are offered to those who pay using their
>> cards.
>>
>>
>> The truth is that the government will track your every move from now
>> henceforth since all the cards are connected to a central data base
>> system. What if some corrupt government official sells the said
>> information to thugs; will they not be able to track your every move?
>>
>>
>> http://www.nation.co.ke/oped/Opinion/Beba-Pay-card-and-national-biometric-registration/-/440808/2381900/-/12latj2/-/index.html
>>
>>
>> _______________________________________________
>> kictanet mailing list
>> kictanet at lists.kictanet.or.ke
>> https://lists.kictanet.or.ke/mailman/listinfo/kictanet
>>
>> Unsubscribe or change your options at
>> https://lists.kictanet.or.ke/mailman/options/kictanet/mje%40posix.co.za
>>
>> The Kenya ICT Action Network (KICTANet) is a multi-stakeholder platform
>> for people and institutions interested and involved in ICT policy and
>> regulation. The network aims to act as a catalyst for reform in the ICT
>> sector in support of the national aim of ICT enabled growth and
>> development.
>>
>> KICTANetiquette : Adhere to the same standards of acceptable behaviors
>> online that you follow in real life: respect people's times and bandwidth,
>> share knowledge, don't flame or abuse or personalize, respect privacy, do
>> not spam, do not market your wares or qualifications.
>
> --
> Mark James ELKINS  -  Posix Systems - (South) Africa
> mje at posix.co.za       Tel: +27.128070590  Cell: +27.826010496
> For fast, reliable, low cost Internet in ZA: https://ftth.posix.co.za
>


-- 
______________________
Mwendwa Kivuva, Nairobi, Kenya
twitter.com/lordmwesh

The best athletes never started as the best athletes.
You have to think anyway, so why not think big? - Donald Trump.
"You miss 100 percent of the shots you never take." - Wayne Gretzky.
Tackle the biggest frog first.
I will persist until I succeed - Og Mandino.