Following the announcement by the Minister-nominee for Communications, Digital Technology, and Innovation, Sam Nartey George, regarding the government’s plan to re-register SIM cards, the CEO of the Ghana Chamber of Telecommunications, Dr. Kenneth Ashigbey, has clarified that the previous SIM card registration exercise was not fully completed.<\/p>\n
Mr. Sam George, who made the announcement during his vetting, criticized the past approach, stating that a more logical and seamless process would be implemented.<\/p>\n
He emphasized that the new process would be more efficient and technology-driven to avoid the long queues that characterized the previous exercise.<\/p>\n
In 2022, the government required SIM cardholders to link their numbers with their Ghana Cards. However, the process was marred by inefficiencies, long queues, and SIM blockages for those who failed to comply.<\/p>\n
Sam George reiterated that the re-registration was in the best interest of Ghanaians, ensuring secure and reliable telecommunications services.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe will do a proper SIM re-registration again, and this time, there will be no queues because common sense will prevail, and we will use technology to do it,\u201d he assured.<\/p>\n
Responding to the announcement in an interview with Citi FM, the Chief Executive Officer of the Ghana Chamber of Telecommunications, Dr. Kenneth Ashigbey said the previous exercise was incomplete.<\/p>\n
\u201cI wouldn\u2019t say it is useless. I would say it was incomplete. The thing about it is the fact that the biometric data that was collected was not reading properly.\u201d<\/p>\n
He pointed out that the fingerprint data was not captured as accurately as the NIA\u2019s system, stressing the importance of using the NIA database as the \u201csingle point of truth.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat we should have done was use the NIA database to complete the cycle,\u201d Ashigbey noted.<\/p>\n
He explained that while the initial phase of SIM registration verified data against the NIA database, the second phase\u2014biometric verification\u2014was flawed.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe do the liveliness test, we do the likeliness test, we collect the biometric data, but we don\u2019t compare it with the single point of truth, which is the NIA database,\u201d he stated.<\/p>\n
He emphasized the need to correct this gap to ensure the new registration process is comprehensive and effective.<\/p>\n