Accra, Jan 8, GNA – The National Association of Secretarial and Internet Café Operators – Ghana (NASICOG) has offered to assist smoothen the SIM card re-registration exercise.
This comes in the midst of concerns by registrants over the slow nature of the process with long queues characterising the various centres.
The Ministry of Communication and Digitalisation launched the mandatory SIM card registration exercise in October last year for all subscribers, using the Ghana card.
With about two months to end the exercise, many subscribers, since the continuation of the exercise in January 2022, have been trooping to the centres to have their cards reregistered, leading to congestion.
In view of that, Mr Richard Agyarko, Secretary of the Association, said with their over 200 regional centres and at least 10 community cafés, they could provide more centres closer to registrants to reduce the waiting period.
That, he said, would reduce the stress being experienced by registrants by standing in long queues for several hours and lessen the incidence of the spread of COVID-19.
He said this in an interview with the Ghana News Agency on Friday, noting that the Association, had written to NCA, awaiting approval to assist with the exercise.
“At the café, it is a computer to one person with an assistant assigned to each customer, and our Association has membership across the country, so definitely, all our members will be at specific areas where you can have more than 10 officers available. So, the place wouldn’t be congested.
“We have about 236 regional centres across the country with satellite centres of more than 10 in a particular locality that will supplement that of the telecommunication companies. We are, therefore, sure that this will help reduce the congestion,” he said.
“This will then reduce the stress that people go through to reregister, reduce the incidence of the spread the COVID-19 pandemic, and help the government to meet its March 31 deadline,” he added.
He said, the Association would also partner with the National Identification Authority (NIA) to register individuals without the Ghana card to enable them also have their SIM cards re-registered.
He said, he was confident that with the experience they had had with the biometric registration exercise for all examinations for the West African Examination Council (WAEC), they would deliver.
He, therefore, appealed to NIA to consider their proposal and give them the go ahead to start work as soon as practicable.
He said the Association intended charging the Government GH?5, with GH?2 going to NCA for software maintenance and other overhead cost.
He, indicated, however that “it is not about the issue of money; but… assisting the government to achieve its target. We can even forego the said amount and whatever the government wishes to rake in then we’re given a quota.”
GNA