Sam Nartey George, Member of Parliament for Ningo Prampram Constituency
The Minority in Parliament has revealed the intentions of the National Democratic Congress to conduct another SIM re-registration exercise should it win the 2024 elections.
The parliamentary caucus of the NDC has expressed doubts about the effectiveness of the current government's re-registration exercise, citing flaws in the sole document used for the process, the Ghana card.
According to Sam George, the Member of Parliament for Ningo Prampram, the claim that the current government's stance on the re-registration exercise is aimed at combating crime is false.
Speaking during a media briefing in Parliament on June 8, 2023, he argued that the Ghana card, which serves as the primary identification document for the re-registration, is fundamentally flawed. As a result, the NDC has the intention to undertake a proper re-registration of SIM cards in the future, eliminating the need for subscribers to queue at telecom offices.
"It is not true that they are using this to fight crime because the Ghana Card fundamentally is flawed. That is why we have served notice that the next NDC government will do a proper re-registration of SIM cards, which will not involve you having to go and queue in telecom offices,” citinewsroom.com quoted him as saying.
The current SIM re-registration exercise, which commenced on October 1, 2021, has led to the deactivation of approximately 9 million unregistered SIM cards by telecommunications firms in Ghana. The directive for the exercise came from the National Communications Authority (NCA) and the Ministry of Communications, with the aim of enhancing regulatory compliance and combating potential security threats.
Meanwhile, the Minister of Communications and Digitalisation, Ursula Owusu-Ekuful, has provided an update on the status of the SIM re-registration exercise. She announced that Mobile Network Operators (MNOs) are collaborating with the Bank of Ghana to facilitate the retrieval of funds for individuals who had their money locked in mobile money accounts due to deactivated SIM cards.
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