The opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC) has expressed grave concern at the new wave of challenges bedevilling the ongoing mobile SIM re-registration exercise.
The party notes with dismay that right from the time the government, through the Ministry of Communications decided to undertake a re-registration of mobile SIM cards sometime in 2021, the exercise has been fraught with chaos and arbitrariness fuelled by the incompetence of the Ministry of Communications and the National Communications Authority.
“We are appalled that this objectionable impunity has reached an alarming point where the mobile SIM cards of innocent Ghanaians including those who have already undertaken the said re-registration are being restricted and rendering many citizens incommunicado, helpless and frustrated.”
A statement issued by the NDC and signed by Mr Johnson Asiedu Nketia, General Secretary of the party pointed out that this simple exercise of linking SIM Cards to the Ghana card of subscribers to check crime among others could have been easily done by extracting the biometric data of persons who have registered for the Ghana card from the National Identification Authority and matching same with the database of the Telecos.
“The NIA has made this point, the NDC’s Minority Group in Parliament and Civil Society Organizations have backed same.”
“Yet, the obstinate Ursula Owusu and the NCA will just not listen to these voices of reason but have chosen to make a fetish of a simple exercise of linking SIM cards to Ghana cards, thereby subjecting Ghanaians to needless long queues, loss of valuable working hours and sleepless nights,” he said.
“It is an indisputable fact that the re-registration of mobile SIM cards policy and its attendant sanctions that are being meted out to Ghanaians by the Ministry of Communications and the National Communications Authority are neither backed by the SIM Registration Regulations, 2011 (L.I 2006) nor the National Identity Register Regulations, 2012 (L.I 2111) or any law in force in the country,” he added.
According to him, the decision by these entities to restrict the SIM Cards of Ghanaians including those who have already re-registered their SIM Cards is unlawful, irresponsible and unacceptable.
The NDC, he said, condemns in no uncertain terms this arbitrariness and recklessness by the Minister of Communications and the NCA.
And that mishandling and crass bungling of a simple exercise such as the ongoing SIM card re-registration can only be supervised by incompetent and clueless public servants like those currently at the helm of the Ministry of Communications and the NCA.
He applauded and encouraged more citizens who have been affected by the reckless SIM Card restrictions to take legal action.
Mr Asiedu Nketia called on Parliament, particularly the Parliamentary Select Committee on Communications to call the Minister of Communications and the NCA to order in line with its oversight responsibility over these state entities.
The lawlessness being displayed by the Minister of Communications, Ursula Owusu and the NCA, he said, must be halted now.
