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The Chief Executive Officer of the Ghana Chamber of Telecommunications, Dr. Kenneth Ashigbey, has described the previous SIM card registration exercise as incomplete, following an announcement by Communications Minister nominee Sam Nartey George that the government plans to re-register SIM cards.
During his vetting, Sam George criticized the earlier registration process, which required SIM cardholders to link their numbers to their Ghana Cards in 2022. The exercise was plagued by inefficiencies, long queues, and the blocking of SIM cards for non-compliant users. George pledged that the new process would be more efficient, technology-driven, and devoid of the challenges that marred the previous attempt.
“We will do a proper SIM re-registration again, and this time, there will be no queues because common sense will prevail, and we will use technology to do it,” George assured, emphasizing that the move is in the best interest of Ghanaians to ensure secure and reliable telecommunications services.
In an interview with Citi FM, Dr. Ashigbey supported the call for a new registration exercise but clarified that the previous effort was not entirely futile. “I wouldn’t say it is useless. I would say it was incomplete,” he stated. He highlighted a critical flaw in the initial process: the biometric data collected during registration was not accurately verified against the National Identification Authority (NIA) database, which he described as the “single point of truth.”
“What we should have done was use the NIA database to complete the cycle,” Ashigbey explained. He noted that while the first phase of the registration verified user data against the NIA database, the second phase—biometric verification—was flawed. “We do the liveliness test, we do the likeliness test, we collect the biometric data, but we don’t compare it with the single point of truth, which is the NIA database,” he said.
Dr. Ashigbey stressed the importance of addressing this gap to ensure the new registration process is comprehensive and effective. He emphasized that leveraging the NIA’s database for accurate biometric verification would be crucial for the success of the re-registration exercise.
The government’s plan to re-register SIM cards aims to enhance the security and reliability of telecommunications services in Ghana. With both the minister nominee and the Telecoms Chamber CEO advocating for a more streamlined and technology-driven approach, stakeholders are hopeful that the new process will address the shortcomings of the past and deliver a seamless experience for users.
Source:NKONKONSA.com
