Communications Ministry expresses worry over low turnout in SIM card registration

The Ministry of Communications and Digitalisation (MoCD) has expressed worry about the low enthusiasm attached to the SIM card registration, despite extending the initiative to July 31.

According to the Ministry, data indicates that the number of registered SIM cards on daily basis has dropped drastically, a development the ministry intends to change by intensifying education.

Deputy Minister, Abena Pomaa Boateng is therefore advising Ghanaians not to wait till the last minute to register their SIM cared, since her ministry will not extend the deadline date.

Speaking to Joy Business on the sidelines of the 2022 World Telecommunication and Information Society Day celebration, the Deputy Minister said “the Ministry is worried, there was so much pressure for us to extend it [deadline]. People said they were waiting for their IDs to be ready before they can register. So with all of those things, we earlier extended the deadline”.

“We also realised that the number of people that register on daily basis have also dropped. So we are going to intensify the advocacy once again”, she explained.

“The fact that it has been extended doesn’t mean you should wait till 30th then you go and look for your IDs to go and register,” she added.

Every subscriber is required to provide the name and residential or occupational address, date of birth, in the case of an individual; and Certificate of Incorporation, in the case of a body corporate; or registration, in the case of a partnership or an unincorporated body of persons; and an identification document.

Only the National Identity Card (Ghana Card) issued to an individual shall be used for registration of SIM cards of Citizens, Foreign Residents and Foreigners staying in Ghana for more than 90 days.

Benefits of registration of SIM Cards

According to Ama Pomaa Boateng “SIM registration, when undertaken correctly as we intend to do, will reduce or eliminate fraudulent and criminal activities, help authorities ascertain the accurate number of valid and accurate SIMs on the networks. It will also enable operators to build better demographics of their customer base and help them develop products and services to suit the various groupings”.

She explained further that the regulator – NCA – will get more accurate data to regulate the industry even better.

Extension

The Ministry announced an extension of the deadline for all SIM cards to be reregistered.

In a statement on Tuesday, March 22, 2022, the ministry said the fact that many Ghanaians were yet to acquire their Ghana Card, which is the sole identification card for the purpose of the registration made it difficult for them to complete the registration process before the March 31 deadline.

It said other challenges during the exercise confirmed that the deadline cannot be met by many people, hence the need for the deadline to be extended.

While announcing additional measures put in place to ensure that the many persons yet to reregister their SIM do so, the ministry said as at 17th March, 14 million SIM cards had been linked to the Ghana card and over 10 million bio-captures conducted.

The statement reads, “The SIM registration exercise began on 1st October, 2021 and is expected to end on 31st March, 2022. As at 17th March, 14,091,542 SIM Cards have been linked to the Ghana Card, 10,348,532 Bio-Captures conducted and 99,445 New SIMs registered.

Due to a number of factors including the fact that over 7.5 million citizens and residents are yet to obtain Ghana Cards to enable them register their SIM cards, it is clear that the deadline for completion of the registration of the remaining active SIM cards cannot be met.

“More time will also be required to update the SIM Registration App for the registration of diplomats, while a Self-Service SIM Registration App is also being developed to facilitate registration of SIM cards for Ghanaians resident abroad. This will be operational by mid-April. These issues make it imperative for the deadline to be extended to ensure that every eligible SIM card is captured and we produce a credible database by the end of the exercise.

“The Ministry of Communications and Digitalisation has therefore extended the deadline for the registration of Subscriber Identification Module (SIM) cards to 31st July, 2022. We commend all Ghanaians and foreign residents in Ghana for their support in ensuring that through this exercise, we develop and build a credible SIM database with integrity, which will help address issues of cyber fraud and promote secure SIM Card based transactions as part of our efforts to digitally transform the economy.”

SIM re-registration steps

1. Dial the short code *404#
2. Enter Ghana Card Pin ( Note: Enter letters and figures without hyphens)
3. Confirm Ghana Card Pin
4. Enter Surname
5. Enter First Name(s)
6. Enter Date of Birth (Format: DDMMYYYY)
7. Select Sex
8. Confirm Details
9. Submit Details Provided After Confirmation

Note:

1, If successful, you will get a confirmation message with a unique code

2, If unsuccessful due to wrong details, you have 3 attempts to answer security questions

A second stage of the registration process requires that users visit the office of their telecom service providers.