The Minister of Communications and Digitalization, Ursula Owusu-Ekuful, is expected to appear before Parliament on Thursday, June 8, to provide details on the SIM card re-registration exercise.

Over 8 million subscribers, including the Speaker of Parliament, Alban Bagbin, had their SIM cards deactivated after the May 31 deadline for the exercise.

Speaking on the floor of Parliament, the Member of Parliament for Ningo-Prampram, Sam Nartey George, lamented that the deactivated SIM cards, which have been taken off as a result of the delay in the release of Ghana Cards by the National Identification Authority, have affected livelihoods.

“People’s livelihoods have been affected, and people’s mobile monies have been stuck on their cards. It is important that this House takes into consideration that the National Identification Authority has failed to issue any Ghanaian citizen a Ghana Card in any district office in December 2022, so it is not the fault of any Ghanaian that they have not been able to register their SIM card.”

The SIM card registration campaign started on October 1, 2021, and was due to end on March 31, 2022.

The National Identification Card, also known as the Ghana Card, is the only document that can be used to undertake the registration exercise.

However, due to some difficulties in the acquisition of the Ghana Card, the NCA extended the deadline for registration multiple times until May 31, 2023, which was communicated as the final deadline.

About 7.4 million mobile money accounts, holding an amount of GH¢200 million, have not been registered and therefore deactivated.

However, the Chamber of Telecommunications has assured that monies on blocked accounts will be kept in a special account.

Dr. Kenneth Ashigbey, Chief Executive Officer of the Chamber of Telecommunications, said owners of restored mobile money accounts would be required to undergo a process to have monies restored to their wallets.

“If you do not have a Ghana Card, go to the National Identification Authority to obtain a card. Once you have the Ghana Card, dial the registration code, and register. Once you have registered, you will get your number back,” Dr. Ashigbey said.