14 April 2025
Starting 1 July 2025, Ghanaians will be able to register their SIM cards through a new online-only system aimed at enhancing convenience and efficiency. The announcement was made by Sam Nartey George, the Minister of Communication, Digital Technology and Innovation, during a visit to Margins ID Group in Accra.
With the new system, Ghanaian citizens will be able to complete the registration process entirely online. The system is designed to automatically verify personal information, thus eliminating the need for manual checks and significantly cutting down on wait times. The minister emphasized that this upgrade will improve data accuracy and provide a more hassle-free SIM card registration experience for citizens.
Ghana's SIM card re-registration exercise originally began in 2021. However, due to previously low registration rates, the initiative faced several extensions. In June 2023, unregistered SIM cards were disconnected from all services except access to emergency numbers, underscoring the importance of completing the SIM registration.
The transition to a completely digital registration process is expected to make it easier for Ghanaians to register their SIM cards, thereby increasing compliance rates. The government is hopeful that this shift will encourage more citizens to complete the registration process, avoiding the challenges encountered in the previous phases.
Ghana is among several African nations implementing mandatory SIM card registration protocols to combat SIM fraud, linking SIM cards to national ID cards. Other nations with similar requirements include Lesotho, Nigeria, Namibia, and Mauritania. However, enforcing compliance with SIM registration deadlines has proven challenging in many African countries. Like Ghana, Nigeria and Tanzania have also had to postpone their registration deadlines multiple times.
