It looks like SIM card registration in Ghana, supposedly over and done by May 2023, isn’t over yet, at least according to Ghana’s Minister-Designate for Communications, Digital Technology, and Innovation, Sam Nartey George.
George recently announced plans to implement a new SIM card registration process to address issues encountered during the previous exercise.
During his vetting last week’s by Parliament’s Appointments Committee, George criticised the previous government’s approach, particularly the long queues and inefficiencies faced by Ghanaians during the registration process. Previously borne by users, the costs related to the operation will now be borne by mobile operators, he suggested.
The previous government’s SIM card re-registration exercise, required cardholders to visit various mobile operators’ offices to link their SIM cards with their Ghana Cards (the country’s national ID cards). Failure to comply led to SIM card blockages or the withdrawal of essential services.
George assured the committee that, under his leadership, the new SIM registration exercise would be more efficient and streamlined, leveraging technology to cross-reference data with the National Identification Authority (NIA) database and all biometric databases.
This approach, he suggested, would eliminate the need for long queues and simplify the process for Ghanaians. Only in instances where there might be a disparity would Ghanaians be required to visit a mobile operator’s shop.
As regular readers will know, Ghanaian authorities launched SIM registration on 1 October 2021 and ended the process on 31 May 2023. More than 18.9 million SIM cards were fully registered by October 2022.
However, local reports say that nearly 10 million subscribers have only completed the first step of the process. This means their SIM cards are only partially registered and could still be deactivated.
