SIM re-registration to be rolled out soon – Ursula tells Appointments Committee

Minister designate for Communications and Digitization, Ursula Owusu-Ekuful, has disclosed that Ghana will soon embark on SIM re-registration as part of efforts to properly secure citizenry and to combat criminal use of technology.

Mrs Owusu-Ekuful was making submissions before parliament’s Appointments Committee today. She stressed the importance of the task adding that Ghana will join a global best practice league with the measure.

“We have taken a decision to revisit the SIM registration regime, to do it and do it properly. One of the major concerns that have plagued SIM registration in the past has been the lack of an effective ID to verify the identity of whoever was registering the SIM.

“No where in the world can you just acquire a SIM card without registration. And looking at the uses to which we are putting our mobile devices, it is not just a mobile phone for talking now, it is your bank, it is your office, it is your entertainment device and it is storing very confidential information of yours.

“It is important for the security of all citizens to do this SIM registration properly so that we easily identify who is using what SIM for what purpose if need be when the security agencies need it,” she added.

The nominee also disclosed that people who have duly registered their SIMs as of today will only have to verify their registration with their operators.

In October 2019, the then minister asked all owners of SIM cards to undergo a re-registration exercise between January 2020 to June 2020. At the time, the directive from government was part of moves to fight sim card misuse and mobile money fraud.

She however admitted that the incidence of the coronavirus pandemic had affected the re-registration bid. Adding that it will be rolled out soon and persons who refuse to do so will have their cards deactivated.