The Minister for Communication and Digitalisation, Ursula Owusu-Ekuful says mobile telephony subscribers should not blame their service providers for failure to register their SIM cards.
According to her, a full raft of punitive measures will soon be rolled out against those who fail to register their SIM Cards, using the Ghana Card.
In this regard, she stressed in a Facebook post on Wednesday that, “At a subsequent press conference in September, the full scope of the sanctions will be revealed.
If you suffer that fate as a result of your own inaction, kindly do not blame your service provider. To be forewarned is to be forearmed”.
In her post, she further emphasised that her outfit will not extend the deadline for the registration of SIM Cards in the country; adding that, “After evaluation at the end of August, it has been determined that starting the disciplinary steps outlined in the NCA press release is prudent.
Additionally, any SIM that has not yet been completely registered will be unable to use voice and Internet services. Afterward, using unregistered SIMs will be more expensive”.
The comments by the sector minister comes at a time when many Ghanaians continue to lament their inability to register their SIM Cards.
This situation appears to be endemic, as many citizens have not been able to exhaust the process.
Meanwhile, Bunkpurugu MP, Abed-nego Azumah Bandim has called on the National Communications Authority (NCA) to stop being a ‘rubber stamp regulator’.
His comment follows the Authority’s decision to sanction citizens who are yet to register their SIM Cards.
In a statement on Tuesday, the MP explained that as of now, many Ghanaians have not been able to access their Ghana Cards, hence their inability to register their SIM Cards.
On that note, he urged the NCA to revise its intended punitive measures and roll out measures to make the process more convenient for citizens.
“The National Communications Authority (NCA) must immediately withdraw its recently announced draconian punitive measures on SIM card re-registration, and cease being a rubber stamp regulator in the communications industry.
“Quite clearly, the inability of the NCA to assert its mandate is partly to blame for the current mess with the SIM card re-registration exercise.
“If the NCA really wants to achieve its aim of becoming a world-class regulator, then it must first wean itself off political control and the egos of the sector minister, and effectively regulate the communication industry using evidence-based research” portions of the statement read.
The Bunkpurugu MP added, “As a former Chief Manager at the NCA, I know that this is an authority staffed by professionals who would only act in ways that promote the larger interest of Ghanaians. This is not the NCA that we know. The standards have fallen”.
