The Minister of Communications, Samuel Nartey George, has reiterated that the full financial responsibility for Ghana’s upcoming SIM card registration initiative will rest with telecommunications companies.
In an interview, Mr. George elaborated that this decision is part of broader efforts to enhance the nation’s telecommunications framework while promoting accountability among industry stakeholders.
He disclosed that a Legislative Instrument (LI) is being prepared to be presented to Parliament, which will provide the necessary legal foundation for this policy.
“They [telecom companies] will cover the costs. I will ensure they do. An LI will be submitted to Parliament,” he stated emphatically.
Mr. George made a clear distinction between the forthcoming initiative and the SIM re-registration process previously overseen by his predecessor, Ursula Owusu-Ekuful. He criticized the earlier method and emphasized that the new initiative is not merely a re-registration but a comprehensive registration effort aimed at refining and centralizing the national SIM card database.
“One of my critiques of Ursula Owusu was regarding the re-registration she conducted… and that is why I have been explicit that I am not implementing a re-registration. I am initiating a SIM registration,” he clarified.
Additionally, the Minister indicated that the forthcoming exercise will exclusively utilize the Ghana Card, which he referred to as the “single source of truth” for identity verification.
He asserted that this strategy will guarantee that the data gathered is accurate, verifiable, and centralized, thereby addressing the issues and inconsistencies that have affected previous registration efforts.
Providing historical context, Mr. George mentioned the last legislation related to SIM registration, which was enacted in 2010 under the leadership of then-Minister Haruna Iddrisu.
“The most recent LI on record for registration was established in 2010 by Haruna Iddrisu, and it is important to note that at that time, there was no Ghana Card, meaning there was no single source of truth,” he concluded.
