Sam George schools Ursula Owusu on her threats to block unregistered sim cards after July 31
Ghanaian lawmaker, Sam George has suggested to the Communication ministry, ways to go about the ongoing sim card registration without threatening Ghanaians who are yet to do so due to obvious challenges.
The communication minister, Ursula Owusu in parliament recently said her outfit would not extend the date for the registration of the sim cards though about 5 million Ghanaians have not registered their sim cards due to the inability of the National Identification Authority to provide them with their Ghana cards.
The Ningo Prampram MP wrote an open letter to the Communications Minister.
READ BELOW:
Dear Hon. Ursula Owusu,
I bring you greetings from the sidelines of the African Internet Governance Forum in Lilongwe, Malawi. At every opportunity, I have taken pains to trumpet the success stories we have chalked as a Nation in our quest to bridge the digital divide and achieve affordable and accessible internet for all.
All of our collective successes in this sector starting from the liberalisation of the sector in 1993 to Ghana being the first Country in the subcontinent to have internet access in 1995 is at risk of being destroyed by your insistence of a deadline by end of July for SIM card re-registration.
I have taken pains to state that even though I support the policy decision to have a cleaner database of SIM card holders, you are erring by using LI.2111 as basis instead of LI. 2006. This policy decision would be the second most disastrous after the obnoxious e-Levy in destroying our digital gains.
Many individuals and businesses that rely on SIM cards for their survival have taken steps to comply with your directive but the failure of the National Identification Authority to provide them their cards has led to an inability to comply with the directive. How do you seek to roll back the digital gains by closing your eyes and ears to the prevailing realities?
The MNOs themselves stand a huge risk of losing critical customers and have sounded the warnings. What happens to persons who owe them loans taken on these almost 6 million SIM cards? Why are we not considering alternatives measures to ensure maximum compliance with the policy directive?
I am not just going to complain. I would once again share solutions to the current quagmire we face which would position Ghana badly on the international scene. Kindly comply with sections 2 and 10 of the LI. 2006 (Subscriber Identification Module Registration Regulations). Extend the deadline and allow citizens to use either the Ghana Card, a Valid Driver’s License, a Valid Ghanaian Passport or a Valid Ghanaian Voter’s ID Card. This is what the current legislation in Ghana demands.
This is not about who is right or wrong. It is not about who is making the suggestion. It is about the survival of the Telecommunications sector. It is about the gains and strides successive governments have made in the area of digital inclusion. Let us not have another e-Levy or radio station closure debacle. Let us stop the horses from bolting. I can only pray and hope that you and your advisors make all other considerations secondary to the growth of the sector.
GOD bless our Homeland Ghana. 
