SIM Registration Was Flawed, Not Futile – Ken Ashigbey
Telecom CEO explains the challenges faced during the previous SIM registration and calls for better integration with the NIA database
- The previous SIM registration faced challenges with inaccurate fingerprint data
- The second phase, biometric verification, lacked integration with the NIA database
- Dr. Ashigbey emphasizes that a comprehensive system overhaul is needed
The CEO of the Ghana Chamber of Telecommunications, Dr. Kenneth Ashigbey, has clarified that the previous SIM card registration was not ineffective but rather unfinished.
This clarification comes after Communications Minister-Designate, Sam Nartey George, announced a new SIM card re-registration to address shortcomings in the earlier process.
In 2022, the government mandated that SIM cardholders link their numbers to their Ghana Cards, but the process faced significant challenges such as long queues, inefficiencies, and SIM blockages for non-compliance.
Sam George, during his vetting, criticized these hurdles and promised a smoother process with direct integration into the National Identification Authority (NIA) database.
Dr. Ashigbey, speaking in an interview on February 3, explained that while the biometric data collection was not a failure, it was incomplete due to technical issues.
He explained, “I wouldn’t say it is useless. I would say it was incomplete. The fingerprint data collected was not as accurate as the NIA’s system, which is the single point of truth.”
He emphasized that the NIA database should have been used to finalize the registration process, pointing out that while the first phase of the SIM registration matched data with the NIA database, the second phase, involving biometric verification, was flawed due to the lack of proper comparison with the NIA’s data.
Ashigbey stressed the importance of filling this gap to ensure the new registration process is both comprehensive and successful.
