All unregistered SIM cards to be blocked after October

The Ministry of Communications and Digitilisation says all sim cards not fully registered will be blocked “progressively” when the month of October ends.

“All sim cards that have been linked to Ghana Cards, but have not completed their second stage registration will be blocked from the end of October. This is not an extension of the deadline but a temporary moratorium to encourage these individuals to complete the process. If they have any peculiar challenges, they should contact the NCA.”

“These good people have the Ghana card, have started the process and will be encouraged to complete it with this gentle reminder. All other unregistered SIMs will also be blocked progressively,” the Ministry stated in a press release signed by Mrs Ursula Owusu-Ekuful, its Minister, and copied to the Ghana News Agency.

The statement said all data-only Sims, including those issued by Surfline, Busy Internet, Telesol, and any institution such as Electricity Company of Ghana, had up to the end of November to complete registration.

The statement, however, cautioned those who had registered more than 10 SIM Cards for personal use to delink the unwanted sim cards immediately because any excess over the individual limit of 10 per person would be removed from the database and blocked.

It said the National Communications Authority (NCA) had been directed to conduct mystery shopping and enforce the law against such persons and their collaborators, adding that, persons found guilty could be imprisoned for up to five years.

The said the NCA was in discussions with the National Identification Authority (NIA) on registered amputees and other categories of persons.

It said provisions made earlier for sim cards active outside Ghana and diplomats still stood.

According to the statement,  28,959,006 sim cards had been linked to Ghana cards, representing 67.28 per cent of the 42,749,662 total sim cards issued nationally between October 01, 2021 and October 04, 2022, whereas, 18,930,664 sim cards had been fully registered, representing 44.28 per cent of the total sim cards issued within the same period.

It noted that 13,720,687 unique Counts of Ghana Cards had been used so far for the registration exercise.

“… 14 million Ghanaians and non-Ghanaians can sleep safely, comforted by the fact that their 18.8 million sim cards are safe and secure. We have made good progress, and this is a collective gain that we must celebrate,” the statement said.

It is, however, disconcerting that almost 10 million people who have linked their sim cards to their Ghana Cards have not completed their second stage registration.

“There is no excuse for this since these individuals have their Ghana Cards, have started the process and had ample opportunity to fully register their sim cards, including through the use of the self registration app which is the first of its kind in the world,” it said.

The statement said the Ministry would continue to engage the NIA to expedite the issuance of Ghana cards so that others would get theirs to register their sims.

It commended the millions of Ghanaians and non-Ghanaians resident in Ghana who had  registered their sim cards in accordance with the directives since the process commenced on October 01, 2021.

The statement said the primary objective of the exercise was to protect all against fraud, promote collective security and advance Government’s transformational digital agenda.

Source: GNA

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