According to Ursula Owusu-Ekuful, minister of communications, there has been a decrease in SIM-related fraud since the registration process began.
She claims that this is evidence of the government’s efforts to safeguard the nation’s digital ecosystem and to safeguard consumers and companies.
She stated that the Ministry’s top goal has always been to achieve digital inclusion and to offer a secure environment for Ghanaians to access digital services in a statement released on Friday, November 11. The statement provided updates on the SIM card registration exercise.
ICT should be available to everyone risk-free, and the SIM registration effort will address several concerns in the sector.
Since the start of the registration operation, “we can attest to the fact that there has been a considerable drop in SIM-related fraud,” she said.
However, the Minister announced that starting on November 20, any SIM cards that have not been fully registered will be prohibited from using data services.
On November 30, 2022, all SIM cards that have been linked to the Ghana Card but have not been activated during the second phase of registration will be totally deactivated.
“Once the ongoing talks are finished, a further statement will be made shortly on how to accommodate people who legitimately do not have the Ghana Cards.”
“Some who have the Ghana Cards and have started the procedure have failed to finish the registration, despite enough opportunity being provided to them to complete the registration of their SIM cards. They made that decision, and we cannot criticize them for it, the statement continued.
Maximum SIM cards to register
The Ghana Card allows users to register a maximum of 10 SIM cards.
When the facility is implemented at the end of November, all citizens and residents are now encouraged to check the number of SIMs registered to their Ghana Cards. Additionally, registered corporate SIMs must be appropriately categorized by all MNOs.
Any additional SIM cards registered over the required minimum of 10 will be disabled in order to ensure that they maintain the required number of SIM cards.
The government claims that through encouraging the development of technologies, especially SIM-enabled ones, it is aiming to create an environment that enables everyone to access and use digital platforms.
Ursula Owusu-Ekuful urged everyone to support the registration initiative and work with the government to make sure it was successful for everyone’s benefit.