The Minister for Communications and Digitalisation, Ursula Owusu-Ekuful, has reiterated that the deadline for Ghana’s nationwide SIM card registration exercise will not be extended beyond July 31, 2022.
The registration exercise, which commenced on October 1, 2021, was initially scheduled to end on March 31, 2022, but was extended by four months after millions of citizens had not obtained Ghana Cards required for the process.
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According to the minister, more than 12 million Ghanaians had successfully linked their Ghana Cards to their SIM cards by the time of her announcement.
Speaking at a National Communications Authority (NCA) forum in Kumasi, Mrs Owusu-Ekuful said the exercise was aimed at creating a credible and secure subscriber database to strengthen digital security and protect consumers from fraud.
She explained that as more Ghanaians access the internet through mobile devices, it has become necessary to enhance security measures to combat cybercrime and other forms of digital fraud.
“We must make sure that they do so safely. We must make it difficult for the criminals who hack our systems and defraud us through multiple online channels to operate, and this SIM registration exercise is one of the steps the government is taking in that regard,” she said.
The minister noted that the registration exercise would help establish a subscriber database with integrity, making it easier to protect consumers from scams and fraudulent activities.
Mrs Owusu-Ekuful urged all individuals who had not yet completed the registration process to do so before the deadline.
“I therefore take this opportunity to urge all those who’ve not registered their SIM cards to do so as the deadline of 31st July 2022 will not be extended,” she said.
