The Ministry of Communications and Digitalisation has extended the deadline of the ongoing SIM registration from March 31 to July 31, 2022.
A statement signed by the Minister, Ursula Owusu-Ekuful said as of today, there are over 7.5 million more persons yet to obtain Ghana Cards to register their SIMs and that has warranted the extension.
The statement noted that as of March 17, 2022, the exercise, which began October 31, 2021, had linked almost 14.1 million SIM cards to Ghana Cards, while about 10.35 million bio-captures had also been conducted, with some 99,445 completely new SIM cards 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 to register their SIM cards, it is clear that the deadline for the completion of the registration of the remaining active SIM cards cannot be met,” it said.
The Ministry also noted that the extension would also make room for completion and launch of the self-service SIM registration app, which is currently being developed to facilitate registration for eligible Ghanaians resident abroad. The App will be operating by mid-April.
The statement commended all Ghanaians and foreign nationals resident in Ghana for supporting the effort to create a credible SIM database, which will help address cyber fraud and promote secure/safe SIM card-based transactions as part of efforts to digitalise the Ghanaian economy.
Meanwhile, the long queues and undue delays that used to characterised the ongoing SIM registration has reduced drastically, along with it the widespread public complaints.
The stakeholders, telcos in particular have adopted the strategy of mounting outlets within various communities and on the premises of identifiable organisations like religious bodies, corporate institutions, schools, professional associations, and others to expedite the process, and it is working.
