Government has made a case for the upcoming SIM card registration exercise.
The initiative seeks to address critical flaws in the existing database that have left citizens vulnerable to identity theft and false accusations.
Speaking to stakeholders about the planned exercise, the Minister for Communication, Digital Technology, and Innovation, Sam Nartey George, emphasized that the primary goal is to build a reliable and secure system.
He revealed that current data inaccuracies have had severe real-world consequences, with innocent individuals being wrongly implicated in crimes due to cloned identities.
“The Minister for Interior, who is also the National Security Minister, is insistent on having a credible SIM register,” Minister George explained.
“There have been instances where law enforcement, relying on the flawed data we have now, has apprehended the wrong person. We’ve had cases where a person’s Ghana card was cloned to register a SIM used in criminal activity, leading investigators to an innocent citizen.”
The Minister was keen to distinguish this new exercise from the previous registration drive, which was plagued by controversies over procurement.
He stressed that the current focus is purely on outcome and integrity, not on financial gain.
“At the core of this is not procurement; the core is consumer protection and peace of mind,” he stated.
“The last registration was defined by a battle over procurement contracts. That is not our interest today. Our focus is on creating a functional system jointly owned by the National Communications Authority (NCA) and the National Identification Authority (NIA). I am confident that if we get this right, this will be the final registration we need.”
The Minister concluded that the reforms are essential for restoring public trust and ensuring that Ghanaians are shielded from the severe repercussions of identity misuse.
By integrating more closely with the National Identification System (Ghana Card), the government aims to create a single source of truth that serves both consumer safety and law enforcement needs.
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Source: www.myjoyonline.com
