A group calling itself the Concerned Mobile Network Subscribers has called on the National Communications Authority to immediately withdraw its directive asking the public to re-register SIM cards.
The group, made up of former Members of Parliament, Members of Civil Society Organizations, Media Practitioners as well as Private Legal Practitioners, is lamenting the challenges with the ongoing SIM re-registration exercise.
The group said it will declare Tuesday, February 8, as a “no calls day” if the NCA does not halt the ongoing re-registration exercise.
“The No Calls Day boycott on 8th February would be the first in a series of national boycotts to protest against the current inhumane process of re-registration of SIM cards. There is no law in Ghana that requires Ghanaian mobile network subscribers to “Re-register” their SIM cards,” a statement from the group said.
It says any “attempt to impose this on subscribers or block their lines would amount to an infringement of their property rights.”
The group’s demands are as follows:
(I) The National Communication Authority (NCA) should immediately withdraw its directive for mobile network customers to re-register their SIM cards by 31st March 2022.
(II) When the appropriate legal framework is in place, a re-registration exercise can be done without having subscribers spend productive hours and several days in long queues in the midst of a ravaging Covid-19 pandemic.
(II) There’s understandably a need to eliminate crime. But the fight against criminals must be within the law. We therefore demand that the NCA and Mobile Network Operators (MNOs) must come up with a better and innovative way of re-registering the SIM cards by first amending existing law; and, secondly, to do so without the current inhumane re-registration process we are witnessing.
If the NCA and the MNOs fail to heed these demands, we shall, starting Tuesday, 8th February 2022 begin the first of a series of planned boycotts until the rights of customers to be treated with dignity are respected.
Signed:
Mr. Ras Mubarak
Prof. Raymond Atuguba
Mr. Kofi Bentil
Mr. Franklin Cudjoe
Mr. Kofi Kakraba Pratt
Dr. Kwesi Owusu
Mr. James Afedo
Mr. Selorm Branttie
Mr. Francis Kofi Korankye-Sakyi
Mr. Samson Lardy Anyenini
Mr. Manasseh Azure Awuni
Akyaaba Addai – Sebo
Mr. Kwame Mfodwo
Ms. Amma Sarfo-Kantanka
Mr. Michael Ofori – Akuffo