Founding President of IMANI Africa, Franklin Cudjoe, has raised concerns about the government’s decision to initiate another round of SIM card re-registration in July.
Taking to social media, Cudjoe questioned the rationale behind the move, suggesting that the Ministry of Communications should instead prioritize pressing issues affecting Ghana’s digital and telecommunications landscape.
“What for? The Minister wants to register phones too? Don’t we have many difficult things to do to improve the sector? Is crime the first reason many procure SIM cards and phones? We will be engaging the Minister for answers,” he wrote.
According to Cudjoe, the re-registration initiative lacks urgency and does not address the fundamental challenges within the sector. As a civil society leader, he indicated that his organization will be seeking clarification directly from the Ministry.
Background
The Ministry of Communications and Digitalisation has announced a new SIM card re-registration exercise expected to commence in June.
This initiative is designed to be seamless, featuring an online registration process aimed at eliminating queues and manual data verification.
The Minister, Hon. Samuel Nartey George, made the announcement during a visit to Margins ID Group (Intelligent Card Production Systems) in Accra.
He assured the public that the new system would offer a more efficient and user-friendly experience, with automatic information verification aimed at reducing processing times.
While the government touts the move as a step toward improved national security and data accuracy, critics like Franklin Cudjoe believe resources could be better allocated to address systemic inefficiencies within the sector.
