Deputy Ranking Member on the Communications Committee of Parliament, Sam Nartey George has argued that failure to extend the deadline for registration of SIM cards slated for July 31, will have dire security implications.
“We urge the President and the National Security Minister not to treat this issue with kids’ gloves and take cognizance of the threat of terror and ensure that the millions of Ghanaians who use their SIMs daily are not disenfranchised.”
According to him, several factors have militated against many in their quest to register their SIM cards.
This follows the directive by the government that individuals must re-register their SIM cards with their Ghanaian IDs by July 31 or risk having their SIM cards deactivated.
However, Sam George told the media that the President must make sure that registration continues after the deadline of July 31.
“We hope that within the next 24 to 48 hours, reason will apply. We want to use this means to call on the President, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo to instruct his Minister for Communications, to rescind his decision on the deadline as it poses potential national security implications for millions of Ghanaians who have not been able to register due to no fault of theirs.”
The exercise, which started on October 1, 2021, was initially intended to end on March 31, 2022, but the sector ministry extended it to July 31, 2022, because more than 7.5 million citizens and residents at the time had not yet received their Ghana Cards, which would have allowed them to register their SIM cards.
At the recent Ashanti Regional Consumer Forum on telecommunication services in Kumasi, the Minister for Communication and Digitalisation, Hon. Ursula Owusu-Ekuful has stated that over 12 million people have undertaken the SIM card registration exercise.
“Over 12 million Ghanaians have linked their Ghana Card to their SIM cards. This shows that a lot of us understand the need for this exercise.”
She added that the ongoing SIM card exercise deadline slated for July 31, 2022, will not be extended.
“I take this opportunity to urge all those who have not registered or are yet to link their SIM cards to do so the deadline of July 31 is a few days away and will not be extended,”
The Mobile Money Agents Association of Ghana also urges the government to take into account extending the deadline for the SIM card re-registration exercise.
According to them, if the government decides to implement the deadline of July 31, it will have a detrimental impact on the mobile money industry.
