President John Dramani Mahama has defended plans for a new SIM card re-registration exercise, describing the previous process as ineffective and lacking credibility.
Speaking during the Resetting Ghana tour in Sunyani in the Bono Region on Thursday, March 19, the President said the earlier registration exercise failed to deliver meaningful results despite the challenges it imposed on the public.
He attributed the shortcomings of the previous exercise to poor coordination between key institutions, particularly the Ministry of Communications and the National Identification Authority, which, according to him, undermined efforts to properly link SIM cards to verified national identity data.
‘If you recall, we were asked to re-register our SIM cards, and the process was very challenging. There was a disconnect between the authorities responsible, and in the end, it did not benefit Ghanaians. It was largely ineffective,’ he stated.
President Mahama explained that the upcoming re-registration will be fully integrated with the Ghana Card to ensure proper identification of SIM card users.
He added that the new system will allow individuals to update their registration details without the need to queue at registration centres.
His remarks follow revelations by the National Communications Authority that an audit of SIM registration data between 2021 and 2023 showed zero fingerprint matches when cross-checked with the national identity database, raising concerns about the integrity of the existing system.
Sunyani Airport to be expanded for commercial flights – Mahama
