The Deadline To Re-Register SIM Cards has been moved up to September 30, 2022.
The Ministry of Communication and Digitalization has mandated that SIM cards be reregistered, although many customers have had trouble doing so. The Exercise was supposed to close on July 31, 2022, on a Sunday.
However, the Communications and Digitalization Minister, Ursula Owusu-Ekuful, stated at a press conference on Sunday that the extension came after discussions with industry stakeholders.
“I have reluctantly decided to give a conditional extension after consulting with the industry and in light of the difficulties listed above. The program will continue through September 30 in order to terminate on the anniversary of its beginning.
Our SIM registration will be valid for an entire year after that. Any SIM that has not been fully registered by the end of August will not be allowed to receive certain services, including phone and data services, according to a review scheduled for this month’s end.
The Minister pointed out that even though there were problems with the Ghana Card, including long lines, many Ghanaians still couldn’t register their SIMs after the deadline was extended.
This last deadline extension is the last one.
The numbers show that when the initial deadline was extended on March 21st, there was a 90 percent decrease in SIM reregistration. Before a week ago, there were no lines; instead, people began going to register as soon as they realized the deadline was approaching after going to bed.
“The mobile network operators, NCA, and the NIA have all employed additional people, obtained the necessary logistics, and are paying significant sums to complete this exercise successfully,” she continued. This comes as a large number of Ghanaians swarmed telecom stores all over the nation in an effort to register their SIM cards in time for the second deadline on Sunday, July 31.
By the deadline, 7.9 million Ghanaians were predicted, based on WilsonTrendit Team research, to lose their SIM cards. There are 19.9 million Ghanaians aged 15 and older, according to data from the 2021 Population and Housing Census.
According to figures provided by the finance minister during the presentation of the 2022 mid-year budget review, just 15.7 million of them had been able to acquire their Ghana Cards. According to the Minister of Communications and Digitization, just 12 million of the 19.9 million have been able to fully register their SIM cards.
The government and the Communications Ministry requested a deadline extension for the SIM card re-registration process.
A self-sim registration app would be released the following week, according to the Communications Minister, allowing people to register in the comfort of their own homes.
