Accra, Jan. 18, GNA- Long queues continue to mark the SIM re-registration exercise despite measures put in place by authorities to ease congestions at the various centres.
The National Communications Authority (NCA) early this month indicated that it was in talks with the various Mobile Network Operators (MNOs) to mitigate the challenges that had charactised the process in the early stages.
“The Ministry of Communication and Digitisation (MoCD) and the NCA are working collaboratively with the MNOs to ensure that the SIM registration process is enhanced to make it fast, secure, safe and convenient for customers,” a statement issued by the Authority, said.
Some Mobile Network Operators such as MTN, had earlier also indicated that it had put in place measures to curb the long queues, particularly at its offices.
However, checks by the Ghana News Agency at some SIM registration centres at Dansoman, in the Ablekuma West Municipality of the Greater Accra Region, revealed that nothing significant had changed regarding the queues, as well as the pace of the registration process.
Apart from the Vodafone Office, which had few customers who were being attended to by the time GNA arrived at 0950 hours, long queues persisted at the AirtelTigo and MTN offices in the area, as subscribers waited anxiously for their turn to register.
In an interview with the GNA, Mohammed Iddrisu, MTN subscriber, said the exercise was extremely tedious and time wasting.
Mr Iddrisu said, on three occasions, he had failed to have his SIM registration due to the long queues he often met at the centre.
“With advancement in technology, we should not be hustling to have a SIM card registered this way,” he decried.
Berlinda Asamoah, an AirtelTigo subscriber, reiterated the need for Government to reconsider the deadline for the exercise and extend it to ease the current burden on both subscribers and the telcos.
She also appealed to the relevant authorities to introduce swifter measures to help ease the congestions and make the process faster.
The SIM registration exercise, which commenced on October 1, 2021, is officially expected to end on March 31, 2022.
The exercise, has however, been plagued with many challenges early this year, including long queues at registration centres and slow pace of the registration process.
Many Ghanaians have, therefore, called on the Government to extend the deadline.
It is in accordance with the Subscriber Identity Module Registration Regulations, 2011, LI 2006 to, among other objectives curb SIM boxing and other criminal activities.
According to the directive from the Ministry of Communication and Digitisation, any SIM card that is not accordingly re-registered with biometric information will be blocked.
GNA