Bunkpurugu MP, Abed-nego Azumah Bandim has called on the National Communications Authority (NCA) to stop being a 'rubber stamp regulator'.

His comment follows the Authority's decision to sanction citizens who are yet to register their SIM Cards.

In a statement on Tuesday, the MP explained that as of now, many Ghanaians have not been able to access their Ghana Cards, hence their inability to register their SIM Cards.

On that note, he urged the NCA to revise its intended punitive measures and roll out measures to make the process more convenient for citizens.

"The National Communications Authority (NCA) must immediately withdraw its recently announced draconian punitive measures on SIM card re-registrations, and cease being a rubber stamp regulator IN the communications industry.

"Quite clearly, the inability of the NCA to assert its mandate is partly to blame for the current mess with the SIM card re-registration exercise.

"If the NCA really wants to achieve its aim of becoming a world-class regulator, then it must first wean itself off political control and the egos of the sector minister, and effectively regulate the communication industry using evidence-based research" portions of the statement continued.

The Bunkpurugu MP added, "As a former chief manager at the NCA, I know that this is an authority staffed by professionals who would only act in ways that promote the larger interest of Ghanaians. This is not the NCA that we know. The standards have fallen".

Expressing his reservations about the NCA, Abed-nego Bandim also noted the NCA is aware of the difficulties associated with getting a Ghana Card, and therefore questioned the basis of the Authority's punitive measures.

"The NCA is very much aware of the challenges associated with the acquisition of the Ghana card. In fact, the NCA is well aware that millions of Ghanaians despite frantic efforts have not had their Ghana cards due to the inability of the National Identification Authority (NIA) to issue same.

"Yet the NCA went ahead to issue punitive measures at the instance of the sector minister, who is hell-bent on satisfying her ego rather than serving Ghanaians. Isn’t the NCA supposed to prioritize the interest of Ghanaians over that of the minister?", he quizzed.

The MP concluded his sentiments by urging the NCA to include the passport and voter’s ID as means of identification to enable Ghanaians who do not have the Ghana card yet to register their SIM Cards.

He however commended the NCA for the introduction of the GH SIM Card Registration App; adding that the NCA should take a second look at the cost involved in the usage of the service.

"The introduction of the GH SIM Card Registration App is a commendable effort. However, the cost of using the App is quite exorbitant and exploitative and should be reduced.

Having introduced the self-service registration App, the NCA should have had the patience to wait and observe the initial implementation challenges that may occur using the App, before rolling out any punitive measures", the statement concluded.

Meanwhile, the National Communications Authority (NCA) has announced its decision to roll out some punitive actions against users who have not registered their SIM Cards.

This new move took effect on Monday, September 5, 2022.

According to a statement signed by the Authority’s Director-General, outgoing calls and data services for a sequential batch of numbers will be blocked for 2 days weekly on a rotational basis.

“MNOs [Mobile Network Operators] shall divide the unregistered SIMs into five batches for the purpose of implementing this punitive measure.

“These measures shall exclude blocking of SMS to give defaulting subscribers the opportunity to initiate registration if they so wish.

Subscribers who fully register their SIM Cards within the period they have been blocked will only be unblocked by the MNOs after 48 hours to avoid the MNOs tampering with their systems intermittently”, parts of the statement read.