Registration of SIM Cards: Ursula-new Owusu’s instructions have exposed her to mockery

Registration of SIM Cards: Ursula-Owusu’s new instructions have exposed her to mockery, according to Sam George

The Minister of Communications and Digitalization, Ursula Owusu-Ekuful, has come under fire from the Member of Parliament (MP) for Ningo Prampram, Samuel Nartey George, for caving in to pressure and extending the deadline for the SIM Card re-registration.

Since she declared that the registration deadline would not be extended on July 31, the Minister has faced a number of criticisms in recent weeks.

The Minister did, however, announce an extension of the deadline to September 30 during a press conference on Sunday.

“In order to carry out this exercise successfully, the Mobile Network Operators MNOs, the National Communications Authority (NCA), and—dare I say it—the National Identification Authority, have all hired additional people, acquired the required supplies, and are incurring enormous costs. Any process expansion raises the price of the process. In light of the difficulties listed above and after consulting with the industry, I have very reluctantly agreed to grant a final conditional extension.

“The program will continue through September 30 in order to terminate on the anniversary of its start. We’ll have a full year of SIM registration after that. Any SIM that has not been fully registered by the end of August would be prohibited from obtaining certain services, including voice and data services, according to Hon. Ursula Owusu-Ekuful. It will be reviewed at the end of this month.

Sam George claimed that the Minister has opened herself up for public ridicule in an interview with TV3 for today’s New Day program.

He contends that the Minister should not be informing Ghanaians that she makes decisions grudgingly because she serves the people.

“If you paid attention to what the Minister said yesterday, she once more set herself up for failure and humiliation. Her instructions are empty platitudes. She serves us and works for us, therefore she needs to keep that in mind.

“She can’t be acting as though we care if she tells us that she is unwillingly extending the deadline. Whether reluctantly or willingly you will grant the extension and you have up,” Sam George noted.

Despite the latest extension, the SIM Card re-registration is not expected to be completed due to the continuous challenges associated with the Ghana Card acquisition.