Calls For SIM Registration Extension Intensifies As Grace Period Ends Today

There have been several calls for the Ministry of Communication and Digitalization to extend today’s deadline for Subscriber Identity Module (SIM) re-registration across the country.

Last week, the ministry announced at a presser that there would be no extension for the exercise.

This means Ghanaians who fail to register before 1 August 2022 will lose their sim cards.

The exercise started in October 2021 and was expected to end on 31 March 2022 but was later extended to 31 July 2022.

Communications and Digitalization Ministry says as of 17 March 2022, a total of 14,091,542 SIM cards had been linked to the Ghana Card.

Out of that, 10,348,532 had been bio-captured, and 99,445 were new SIM cards.

A release from the National Identification Authority (NIA) indicated that about 800,000 Ghanaians are yet to receive or pick up their printed cards as of 21 July 2022.

With just a day left to register, several individuals and entities have added their voices to the calls to extend the time to enable all eligible Ghanaians to register.

Meanwhile, there is a mad rush for the Ghana Card as the deadline approaches.

 CUTS International

A public policy think tank, CUTS International, has urged the Ministry of Communications and Digitalisation to extend the SIM registration exercise to the end of the year.

At a presser in Accra on Monday, 25 July, the West African Regional Director for CUTS International, Appiah Kusi Adomako, said this is to allow the wider population who have genuine challenges in obtaining their Ghana Card from the National Identification Authority (NIA), to be given enough time to resolve the issues and register their SIMs.

“We understand the rationale behind the mandatory SIM card registration and the implication of unregistered SIM cards on crime prevention and detection as well as on government domestic revenue mobilization measures; extending the deadline to the end of the year would ensure that those who have not registered would be able to do so.

“Again, we are also not unmindful that not everyone would get registered should it be extended to the end of the year, but those who would take advantage of the extension to register would outnumber those who would not register.

“As a consumer protection organization, we have received numerous concerns from consumers about the difficulty they go through in acquiring the Ghana Card to enable them to register their SIM cards,” he explained.

Mr Adomako indicated that the concerns dated back to the mass registration exercise in 2019 — applicants still haven’t received their cards.

Aside from CUTS International, the Minority in Parliament has joined calls for an extension and called on President Nana Akufo-Addo to instruct the Communications and Digitalisation Minister to extend the deadline.

Who stands to lose more?

The West African Regional Director for CUTS International, Appiah Kusi Adomako, believes that the telecommunication giants and the government itself stand to lose more should they fail to extend the deadline.

He explained that telcos risk losing huge volumes of revenue from their customers should the deadline not be extended.

Some have taken microloans from mobile operators, and disabling their SIM cards would create a substantial loss for the industry players.

“Government, on the other hand, also risk losing a huge amount of revenue from electronic transactions (e-levy) from customers should the deadline stay as it is,” he added.

He suggested that an alternative approach would be for the Ministry of Communications to adopt phased limitations on SIM cards starting from 1 September 2022.

This could include limiting the amount of mobile money that an unregistered SIM can send and or receive to a maximum of GHC 100.00 per day and maximum internet bundle to say 100MB per day. Doing this, he believes, would compel those who have their cards and are reluctant to go and register.

The Minority

The Minority in Parliament also urged the Minister of Communications and Digitalization, Ursula Owusu Ekuful, to extend the deadline.

At a press conference in Parliament, Deputy Ranking Member on the Communications Committee, Mr. Sam George Nartey, said the deadline slated for July 31 “holds potential national security implications for millions of Ghanaians who have not been able to register, due to no fault of theirs.”

He asked the government to acknowledge that millions of Ghanaians earn a living by using their SIM cards daily, so losing their SIMs will cause chaos.

Mobile Money Agents

The Mobile Money Agents Association of Ghana(MMAAG) have also joined the calls.

The Association believes that the 31 July deadline will ruin their businesses which are already facing challenges.

In a statement released on 28 July 2022, the group appealed to the government to extend the time since most people do not have the Ghana Card.

“As a business people in the industry, it will be very detrimental to our business and the industry, in general, should the government pursue the 31st July 2022. We appeal that with realism and having considered inconveniences and challenges, the government should extend the deadline to January 2023,” said the group secretary, Evans Otumfuo.

Sylvester Tetteh

The Vice Chair of the Communications Committee of Parliament, Sylvester Tetteh, has also said that a deadline for the registration is not prudent.

‘Until the Majority of Ghanaians or almost everybody has a Ghana Card, you can’t put a deadline on the SIM card re-registration,” Mr. Tetteh told Citi News.

He said the committee appeals to the Ministry of Communications for an extension of the deadline.