What crime did Ghanaians commit to be asked to re-register their SIM card, unfounded reasons – Franklin Cudjoe

President of IMANI Africa, Franklin Cudjoe is not convinced by the reasons given by the government for the exercise of re-registration of the SIM card in Ghana.

The government has ordered Ghanaians to re-register their SIM cards from October 1, 2021, to help fight fraud in the country.

But speaking on Eyewitness NewsMr. Cudjoe said that “the assumption that the crime will stop automatically because we are going to register SIM cards is a bit far-fetched”.

He felt that the directive also bothered the majority of people for very little gain.

“What crimes have the millions of Ghanaians who have legitimately registered their SIM cards committed to be asked to go re-register their SIM cards because you want to catch some fraudsters? asked Mr. Cudjoe.

According to him, fraudsters are likely to be singled out regardless of this re-registration directive.

“These scammers will be caught anyway, so the reasons are not solid,” he said.

His comments follow similar criticism from minority leader Haruna Iddrisu.

Mr. Iddrisu also believes that the re-registration exercise will not solve the problem of mobile money fraud as touted by the government.

He described the expectations of the government, headed by Vice President Dr Mahamudu Bawumia, as “ill-informed, inept and very naive”.

The re-registration of mobile SIM cards is expected to last six months, ending March 31, 2022.

The exercise is in accordance with the Subscriber Identity Module Registration Regulations, 2011, LI 2006 to combat SIM boxing and other criminal activities.

These are mainly perpetrated by fraudsters using fake SIM cards.

SIM card users will need the national ID card in order to register their SIM cards.

Any SIM that is not registered at the end of this exercise will be blocked.

—Citinenewsroom