The SIM Card re-registration exercise has been extended to 30th September 2022.
However, cards that will remain unregistered by the end of August will be subjected to punitive measures including inability to receive voice and data services.
Registration of such sims will also come at an expensive cost. The full range of the punitive measures will be announced in September.
Minister for Communications and Digitalization, Ursula Owusu disclosed these on Sunday July 31 at a press briefing following a clamour to extend the date because many subscribers have not registered their sim cards.
She indicated that though reluctantly, the extension follows consultation with the industry after identifying a number of challenges including refusal of some people to register their sims to avoid repaying the quick loans they have obtained from their service providers.
She warned that is evil corruption and the perpetrators will be found out sooner or later.
She indicated that the Mobile Network Operators (MNOs) and the National Communications Authority (NC) have also engaged staff, procured the necessary logistics and are incurring significant expenses to conduct the exercise.
Mrs. Ursula Owusu accused the opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC) of being the antecedent to the current sim registration challenges after vociferously opposing the Ghana Card and influencing its supporters to boycott the registration process.
“Actions have consequences and in all that we do we must put the interest of the country first.”
“Those who heeded that anti-social call and refused to register for the Ghana Card are now feeling the effects of it. You listen to the NDC on any issue at your own peril,” he said.
She revealed that as at July, 2022 the total number of Voice SIMs stood at 41, 979,398 out of which, 15,395,607 have linked their Ghana Card to their sim cards.
A Self-Service SIM Registration App, she said, will be launched and be available for download on both android and IOS but stressed each registration via the app will be subject to a GH¢5 surcharge.
The Minister disclosed statistics indicate there was a 90% drop in sim registrations as soon as the first deadline was extended on 21st March.
“Until a week ago, there were no queues at any registration center. People started rushing to register when they realized the deadline was imminent after going to sleep when it was extended.”
“About 50% of those who have completed the first stage of the process have not concluded the second stage. They have linked their SIMS to the Ghana card so that cannot be attributed to Ghana card challenges,” she stated.
Meanwhile, non-resident Ghanaians who do not have the Ghana card can use their passports to complete the process but will be required to update their details with the Ghana card once they acquire it and have up till December 2022 to do so.
Ghanaians on official assignment outside the country or students on scholarships who cannot acquire the Ghana card by December should contact the NCA.
Special provision has been made for members of the diplomatic corps in consultation with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and regional Integration and they have been notified.
All visitors to Ghana can now acquire SIMS with their passports, which will be valid for 3 months and if they want to use them for a longer period, they must acquire the non-citizen ID card to validate their SIM cards.