The Ministry of Communications and Digitalisation (MoCD) has expressed worry about the low enthusiasm attached to the SIM card registration, despite extending the initiative to July 31.

According to the Deputy Minister, Abena Pomaa Boateng, data indicates that the number of registered SIM cards on daily basis have dropped drastically, a development her ministry intends to change by intensifying education.

She is therefore advising Ghanaians not to wait till the last minute to register their SIM cared, since her ministry will not extend the deadline date.

Speaking to Joy Business on the sidelines of the 2022 World Telecommunication and Information Society Day celebration, the Deputy Minister said “the Ministry is worried, there was so much pressure for us to extend it [deadline]. People said they were waiting for their IDs to be ready before they can register. So with all of those things, we earlier extended the deadline".

“We also realised that the number of people that register on daily basis have also dropped. So we are going to intensify the advocacy once again”, she explained.

The fact that it has been extended doesn’t mean you should wait till 30th then you go and look for your IDs to go and register,” she said.

Every subscriber is required to provide the name and residential or occupational address, date of birth, in the case of an individual; and Certificate of Incorporation, in the case of a body corporate; or registration, in the case of a partnership or an unincorporated body of persons; and an identification document.

Only the National Identity Card (Ghana Card) issued to an individual shall be used for registration of SIM cards of Citizens, Foreign Residents and Foreigners staying in Ghana for more than 90 days.

Benefits of registration of SIM Cards

According to Ama Pomaa Boateng "SIM registration, when undertaken correctly as we intend to do, will reduce or eliminate fraudulent and criminal activities, help authorities ascertain the accurate number of valid and accurate SIMs on the networks. It will also enable operators to build better demographics of their customer base and help them develop products and services to suit the various groupings".

She explained further that the regulator – NCA - will get more accurate data to regulate the industry even better.

The Ministry of Communications and Digitalisation extended the deadline for the re-registration of SIM cards across the country to 31st July, 2022.

The exercise was originally scheduled to end on 31st March, 2022.