The Chief Executive Officer of the Ghana Chamber of Telecommunications, Sylvia Owusu-Ankomah, has called for meticulous preparation ahead of the country’s upcoming SIM re-registration exercise.

She stressed that lessons from previous exercises must inform the process to prevent consumer frustration and operational hitches.

The new exercise, approved by Cabinet, will mark Ghana’s third major nationwide SIM registration effort, following previous attempts in 2011 and subsequent exercises intended to tighten identification requirements for subscribers.

Madam Owusu-Ankomah noted that past challenges, including long queues and system inefficiencies, must be addressed to ensure a smoother rollout this time.

Speaking in an interview on Citi FM, she highlighted that the telecom sector has been briefed on government plans through engagements with the Ministry of Communication, Digital Technology and Innovations, as well as the National Communications Authority (NCA).

She stressed the need for the legislative framework guiding the exercise to be reviewed and completed with parliamentary input before implementation.

“We will support government efforts to ensure Ghana maintains a robust ID system. However, we want the process to be transparent and mindful of the difficulties encountered during past registration exercises so that consumers are not faced with unnecessary chaos and discomfort,” Owusu-Ankomah said.

“We have seen the long queues and frustration that arose before. The minister has made it clear that we must avoid repeating those mistakes. The Chamber is ready to collaborate with the NCA on an implementation plan, but first, the legislative instrument must be passed.”

Madam Owusu-Ankomah emphasised that mobile network operators remain supportive of initiatives aimed at strengthening subscriber identification, provided the exercise is carefully structured and executed to minimise disruption for the public.