SIM Card Registration: There Will Be No Extension Date Again- Communication Minister

The Minister for Communication and Digitalisation, Hon. Ursula Owusu Ekuful has reiterated that her outfit will not extend the SIM card registration deadline again as it ends on July 31, 2022.

She made this statement at the Prempeh Assembly Hall in Kumasi during the National Communication Authority program dubbed “Consumer Forum on Telecommunications Services” on Tuesday, July 19, 2022.

According to the Minister, the SIM card registration exercise is one of the Consumer centered initiatives which has the key objective of creating a safe and secured environment for anyone to be able to use communication services with no fear whatsoever of any cyber-attack.

She said this is key to the country’s digitalization process as citizens increase the use of digital technology in all aspects of their daily lives.

She added that SIM registration is one of the steps the government is taking in that direction. Citizens must make it difficult for criminals who hack into citizens’ systems and commit fraud through numerous online channels to operate.

Hon. Ekuful pointed out that any question about the legality of the exercise was settled on July 13, 2022, when the High Court Human Rights Division in Accra dismissed a case challenging the ongoing SIM registration exercise and held that it is lawful, is in the public interest, and none of the actions of the National Communication Authority violated any law.

She stated this service will stress the point that the SIM registration exercise will enable the establishment of a subscriber database with integrity to keep consumers safe, especially from scams and fraud. It is therefore the responsibility of all individuals who own SIM cards to take in this exercise.

Hon. Ursula Owusu Ekuful disclosed that up to date, over 12 million Ghanaians have linked their Ghana Cards to their SIM Cards, showing that a lot of Ghanaians understand the need for the exercise, especially to sanitize the telecommunications environment.

She took the opportunity to urge all who have not registered or are yet to complete their SIM registration to kindly do so as the deadline of July 31, 2022, draws near.

“Again, to our Consumers, please know that all the decisions taken by the Government are for your benefit. Although we acknowledge that at the moment the country lacks a general Consumer protection law and policy, work is ongoing in that regard”.

Source: Opemsuo.com/ Kwame Adu Gyamfi Kumanin.