Two very different announcements regarding SIM registration have made headlines in two African countries in recent days: Togo is pursuing the policy, while Mauritius seems to be rejecting it.
The Togo First news resource says that the country is implementing new rules for SIM card registration through a recent government decree that mandates that all users of electronic communication services must be identified before accessing these services.
Not only is the sale of pre-activated or pre-identified SIM cards now banned but users can hold no more than three SIM cards per operator. In addition operators must also maintain a complete database of their subscribers and submit quarterly reports to authorities. Some of these rules were announced as long ago as 2021.
These measures, according to the authorities, aim to enhance subscriber traceability and combat fraud and cybercrime. Though recent figures do not seem to be available, Togo First says that of March 2024, Togo had about 7.3 million mobile subscribers. The present-day population is about 9.6 million.
The Republic of Mauritius is a much smaller market; it has a population of around 1,270,000 in 2025 and (in 2023) there were about 2.1 million SIM cards, arguably easier to register. However, it is now reversing its 2021 decision to put in place a framework for the registration of SIM cards, which began in 2023.
Subscribers, in other words, are no longer required to identify themselves with operators. Not only that but mobile phone operators are now required to delete the database of photographs of all those who have already registered their SIM cards.
According to the Agence Ecofin news service, the registration process was initiated on the recommendation of a Commission of Inquiry on Drugs in 2018 based on indications that some SIM cards used by tourists and foreign workers wound up in the hands of drug traffickers and their accomplices.
While it’s not clear why the authorities in Mauritius have changed tack, registration of SIM cards is still policy in a number of African countries, with security usually cited among the reasons.
