The sim card registration exercise began from October 1, 2021
• Communications Minister has touted the ongoing sim re-registration exercise as satisfactory so far
• Ursula Owusu-Ekuful said the exercise will propel economic transformation and safeguard fraud activities
• The exercise commenced on October 1 2021 and will end on March 31, 2022
The ongoing SIM card registration exercise has so far been touted as satisfactory, according to Minister for Communication and DigitilisationDigitalisation, Ursula Owusu-Ekuful.
The six-month exercise which commenced from October 1 and set to end on March 31, 2022, is expected to curb the incidents of fraud, monitor and track down persons who use their phones for criminal activities as well as help develop a SIM database.
Providing an update on the ongoing exercise, Ursula Owusu-Ekuful said over 200 persons have so far been registered across the various networks.
“It’s early days yet, and we are continuously monitoring the process, but it’s satisfactory. People are at least signing up for the first stage of the project. So far, even on Day 1, I think they were able to register in excess of 200 people across the various networks,” the minister told journalists in Accra on Tuesday.
She added that despite the smooth nature of the exercise, some challenges have been reported with the implementing agencies billed to hold discussions to address the challenges on Friday, October 8, 2021.
“The feedback is that there are a few glitches as can be expected from the beginning of any project, but we’re monitoring it closely, and we will address all those issues. We would have an initial meeting to review the first week of the registration process on Friday and at which whatever issues have come up will be discussed and then solutions found to it,” Ursula Owusu-Ekuful said.
The Communications Minister, however cautioned persons who might try to get registered through the backdoor to desist from doing so.
“We need to emphasize that you can’t send someone with your ID card to go and do the registration on your behalf. For the security of the system that we want to put in place, you’d have to show up personally with your ID card to complete the process. We’re serious about this process this time around. We’re not going to allow any shortcuts. There is no protocol in it, so you can’t say that I’m a big person, so someone should go and do it for me. It’s not going to happen,” she stressed.
The SIM card registration exercise is in accordance with the Subscriber Identity Module Registration Regulations, 2011, LI 2006.