SIM re-registration: Whose brilliant brainless idea is it to exclude passport as identification? – Imani boss asks

President of Imani Africa Mr Franklin Cudjoe, has raised concerns against the use of the National Identification Card as the only form of identify in the SIM card re-registration exercise.

The six-month exercise is scheduled to begin today, Friday, October 1.

It is expected to take data from all SIM card users across the country.

The National ID card, the Ghana Card, is the only document of identification for the exercise.

Announcing this early last month, Minister of Communications and Digitalisation Ursula Owusu-Ekuful said the exercise has been necessitated due to the increased use of communication services since the emergence of the Covid-19 pandemic and to facilitate E-education, among others.

“Only the National ID card, the Ghana card, issued to an individual shall be used for registration of SIM cards of citizens, foreign residents in Ghana and foreigners staying in Ghana for more than 90 days.”

She added: “Foreigners visiting Ghana can acquire a SIM card using the passport or travel card but they can only use the SIM card for 30 days after which it will be deactivated.

“Foreigners intending to use the SIM card for more than 30 days would have to obtain a non-citizen Ghana card to do so.”

A maximum of 10 SIM cards can be registered by an individual and they should not be below 15 years of age.

Commenting on this in a Facebook post, Mr Cudjoe said “So, whose brilliant brainless idea is it to say that passports are not legitimate IDs for the needless SIM re-registration exercise?

“If there are fake SIM cards in the system, how is that the doing of those millions of us who registered earlier legitimately? Shouldn’t the Telcos be asked to identify and block those fake cards?

“Exactly how will the National ID card being the sole identity requirement for a RE-REGISTRATION of all SIM cards prevent the infiltration of fakes? Nor can any ID actually do so? So, if we all yield and re-register, we will not have fake IDs, ever? And if there are fakes in the near future, we all get asked to re-register again? What is this?”