The National Communications Authority (NCA) has issued a directive that states that all active and unregistered SIM cards must be disabled and removed starting today, May 31.
Ursula Owusu-Ekuful, the Minister of Communications, announced the start of the re-registration of all mobile SIM cards on October 1, 2021. The program was supposed to last for six months, but it was repeatedly prolonged due to real difficulties faced by SIM card users.
Vice President, Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia, has previously said that the purpose of the re-registration effort was to eliminate fraud from the nation’s internet and to watch over and find those who use their phones for illegal purposes.
The Inspector General of Police (IGP), Dr. George Akuffo-Dampare, corroborated the Vice President’s remarks when he testified before the Public Accounts Committee on January 20, 2023. He claimed that the government’s re-registration initiative had helped the Service in its efforts to crack down on cybercrime in the nation.
On February 14, 2023, the government announced that as of February 9, 2023, 25,150,522 SIM cards have been successfully registered in Ghana. They also urged the public to adhere to the registration deadlines.
After extensive consultation, the decision to delete all unregistered SIM cards on April 17, 2023, was reversed.
Source: NCA
