The Communications and Digitalization Minister, Ursula Owusu-Ekuful, will face Parliament today, June 8, to answer questions on the SIM card re-registration exercise.
The Ningo-Prampram MP, Sam Nartey George, raised concerns on the floor of Parliament about the impact of the SIM card deactivations on people’s lives and businesses. He blamed the National Identification Authority (NIA) for failing to issue Ghana Cards to citizens since December 2022, which made it impossible for them to register their SIM cards.
The SIM card re-registration exercise began on October 1, 2021, and was supposed to end on March 31, 2022. The only document that could be used for the exercise was the Ghana Card, a national identity card issued by the NIA to Ghanaians and legally resident foreigners.
However, due to challenges in obtaining the Ghana Card, the NCA extended the deadline for registration several times until May 31, 2023, which was announced as the final deadline.
As a result of the exercise, about 7.4 million mobile money accounts with a total value of GH¢200 million have been deactivated. Over 8 million subscribers, including the Speaker of Parliament, Alban Bagbin, have also lost access to their SIM cards after the May 31 deadline.
