Deputy Minister-Designate for Communications Ama Pomaa has defended government's decision to order mobile telecommunication companies to re-register all sim cards in the country.

Speaking during her vetting, she said the move is in the interest of the nation.

Her comment was in response to a question posed by Minority Leader and member of the Appointments Committee of Parliament, Haruna Iddrisu about the re-registration of SIM cards.

Addressing the committee, she explained that "this is all due to people having certain numbers that cannot be traced. So I think it's very important for us to do the SIM registration with an ID that is traceable so that whoever gets a SIM card will be very mindful of what he or she uses the phone for," she added.

This follows the Vice President's announcement that plans are underway to ensure that all Ghanaians with SIM cards re-register them using the National Identification card by middle of this year.

Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia, speaking at the 5th Ghana CEO Summit noted that the decision is part of plans to rid the country’s cyberspace of fraud. He said any individual who fails to take part in the exercise risks losing his or her SIM card.

The minority, on the other hand, has criticised the move saying it will be a waste of resources.

Minority Leader Haruna Iddrisu contends that limiting the exercise to the use of only Ghana Cards will be problematic as the Ghana card has not covered the national population.