The Ministry of Communications and Digitalisation will commence Ghana’s national SIM card re-registration exercise at the beginning of October this year.
The Minister for Communications and Digitalisation, Ursula Owusu-Ekuful made the announcement during a press briefing and added that the exercise will last for 6 months, ending on March 31, 2022.
Citizens eligible to partake in this exercise are those above the age of 15 years.
The Minister also stated that the Ghana Card, Ghana’s National ID card, will be the only identification to be used for the registration of SIM cards in the country.
“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 stated.
Foreigners staying in Ghana for less than 90 days will be able to use their passports or travel documents to register for a SIM Card.
“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,” she added.
The rationale for the SIM re-registration exercise is to help curtain SIM fraud and cybercrime by tieing SIM cards to an individual’s National ID card.
