Hundreds of people throng NIA, Telco offices for SIM card re-registration
Crowds to serve as COVID-19 spreader
No need for biometric registration using the Ghana card; some Ghanaians
The micro-blogging site, Twitter, has once again been set ablaze as photos and videos of people joining long queues at the National Identification Authority (NIA) and telecommunication operators offices across the country have popped up.
The re-registration of Subscriber Identification Module (SIM) cards commenced on Friday, October 1, 2021, and is expected to end on March 31, 2022.
People who fail to re-register their SIM will have it blocked.
As the deadline draws nigh, several people have thronged the premises of the NIA and the telcos to join long queues to get their Ghana card and biometric registration of their SIM cards done, respectively.
Reacting to this growing development, tweeps have wondered why the re-registration exercise could not be done digitally.
Others suggested that these telcos have applicants on scheduled dates to avoid the crowd and also curb the spread of COVID-19.
In some tweets sighted by GhanaWeb, a user by the name Abraham Bansi said, “A simple phone app or website to let applicants book preferred time to visit the office will reduce this mess, but no, there is this inexplicable joy public servants have when they see their fellow Ghanaians queueing for hours to access a service… Ghana card”
“Why do we have to join queues to register everything in Ghana? This Ghana card /sim registration thing we fit do am online but naa dem say we for join in the queue,” another tweep said.
“Biometric data was collected during Ghana card registration, now linking your SIM card to same Ghana card requires taking of another biometric data. Doesn’t make sense. (Just creating long queues),” another tweep said.
Goldenflyboy said, “Why should we go to the various networks offices for biometric verification whilst it’s already on our Ghana card? what sort of stress is that”
“A simple phone app or website to let applicants book preferred time to visit the office will reduce this mess, but no, there is this inexplicable joy public servants have when they see their fellow Ghanaians queueing for hours to access a service… Ghana card”
The SIM card re-registration exercise is to monitor and track down persons who use their phones for criminal activities.
Read some tweets on the long queue at various NIA and telcos offices below.
Source: www.ghanaweb.com
