Persons who have not registered their SIM cards will be barred from receiving certain services, including all outgoing voice calls and data services from today September 5, 2022.
This was the decision by the National Communications Authority (NCA) after it held extensive engagements with telecommunications companies operating in the country.
The Authority in a statement explained the move forms part of punitive actions ahead of the SIM re-registration deadline which takes effect on September 30, 2022.
The NCA however reiterated that persons who fail to register their SIM cards before the September 30 deadline will have their numbers blocked permanently.
Meanwhile, Communications Minister, Ursula Owusu-Ekuful on Sunday July 31, announced an extension to the deadline for the SIM re-registration exercise to September 30, 2022.
Addressing journalists at a press conference, the minister said the extension had become necessary owing to the teething challenges for registrants who are yet to be issued or acquire their national identification cards.
Below is the communique issued by the NCA to telcos:
Background
The SIM card registration exercise began on 31st October 2021 and was expected to end on 31st March 2022 but as of 17th March, over 14 million SIM cards had been linked to the Ghana Card with over 10 million Bio-Captures conducted and 99,445 new SIMs registered.
Due to a number of factors including the fact that over 7.5 million citizens and residents were yet to obtain Ghana Cards to enable them register their SIM cards, it was clear the deadline for completion of the registration of the remaining active SIM cards could not be met.
As a result, the ministry extended the deadline to July 31, 2022.
However reports from multiple media outlets including GhanaWeb indicate that as of Saturday, July 30, thousands have either not registered their Ghana Card or SIM cards.
This led to several calls on the government and the ministry to cause an extension to the July 31 deadline.
The sim card registration exercise has been extended to September 30, 2022
