The Minister for Communications, Digital Technology, and Innovations, Samuel Nartey George, has announced a comprehensive new SIM card re-registration exercise aimed at resolving critical security vulnerabilities in the nation’s telecommunications database.
Addressing Parliament, the Minister revealed that a recent sample audit of over two million existing subscriber registrations conducted by the National Communications Authority (NCA) showed a 0% success rate in actual biometric verification. This statistic, he explained, has left the current National SIM Register highly compromised and vulnerable to exploitation.
Why the Previous SIM Registration Failed
Minister Sam George clarified a crucial technical distinction that undermined the previous registration drive, highlighting the fundamental difference between basic biodata and actual biometric data. According to him, the previous exercise merely linked SIM cards to the printed information on the face of the Ghana Card, which represents simple biodata, rather than validating the user’s physical fingerprints or facial features against the National Identification Authority (NIA) database.
Because registrations were not validated in real-time, fraudsters easily bypassed security measures. This loophole allowed bad actors to register SIM cards using altered, stolen, or entirely fake Ghana Card details, leading directly to a surge in identity theft, SIM-swap fraud, and mobile money scams.
The Minister emphasized that fingerprints and facial recognition are the only elements that ensure database integrity because they cannot be faked, whereas the printed data on the plastic card can easily be altered.
He assured that under the newly proposed framework, the Ministry will enforce a strict real-time authentication protocol. No SIM card or numbering resource will be activated unless the subscriber’s physical biometrics are successfully verified in real-time against the NIA database. This step ensures that every active phone number in the country is tied to a fully verified and traceable identity.
Learning from the long queues and frustrations of past exercises, the Minister revealed that his Ministry has designed a seamless, remote registration process. Subscribers will be able to securely register and verify their biometrics from the comfort of their homes using their own smartphones.
For citizens who may require physical assistance, the NCA is expected to run a scheduled appointment system at Customer Care Centres to eliminate long wait times. Furthermore, to ensure complete digital inclusion, mobile registration teams, post offices, and community information centres will be deployed to remote and underserved communities so that no eligible subscriber is left behind.
The updated registration framework introduces several advanced security protocols to protect consumers and enhance national security. The system will support remote SIM de-linking, allowing users to remove unauthorized numbers associated with their identity.
Additionally, a designated “Primary Number” system will be introduced for secure multi-factor authentication, while device verification will be linked directly to the Central Equipment Identity Register (CEIR) to block the use of stolen devices. The system will also feature real-time validation of corporate registrations and diplomatic identification documents.
To provide a solid legal foundation for the exercise, the Minister has laid the Electronic Communications (Numbering Resource Registration) Regulations, 2026 before Parliament. This new Legislative Instrument (L.I.) will officially repeal and replace the outdated Subscriber Identity Module Registration Regulations, 2011 (L.I. 2006), which the Minister argued is no longer fit for purpose in a modern digital economy.
Crucially, the Minister explicitly assured Parliament and the public that the upcoming registration exercise will carry absolutely no financial cost to the consumer.
Responding to queries about his previous opposition to SIM registration efforts when he served as the Deputy Ranking Member of the Parliamentary Select Committee, Sam George emphasized that his past criticisms have been entirely justified by the current state of the database.
He noted that he originally opposed the previous exercise because he knew the process was fundamentally flawed and would fail to deliver a secure database. As Minister, he expressed his commitment to correcting those past mistakes using robust technology and a proper legal framework.
Eugenia Ewoenam Osei
