Samuel Nartey George, Minister for Communications, Digitalisation and Innovations, has announced plans to launch a fresh nationwide SIM registration exercise in Ghana in the first quarter of 2026. The initiative — the minister says — will be a full biometric registration from scratch and not a simple re‑registration of previously captured SIM data.
“We are not doing a re‑registration. We are doing a SIM registration. You didn’t do any registration — the former Minister just wasted everybody’s time.”
According to the ministry, the earlier exercise carried out under the previous administration was inadequate because it failed to cross‑reference captured biometrics with the National Identification Authority (NIA) database. The new exercise will involve closer integration between telcos, the National Communications Authority (NCA), and the NIA to ensure proper biometric verification.
The minister told reporters that the legal instrument (L.I.) required for the registration process has been finalised and that procurement for a service provider is underway through the Public Procurement Authority. He added that the ministry has already started a clean‑up of existing biometric records and has completed a significant portion of the cross‑referencing effort.
“The L.I is ready … first quarter next year, we will run it out.”
Officials said roughly 80% of the clean‑up and cross‑referencing with the NIA’s backend database has been completed, and the exercise will include safeguards to prevent duplication and to validate identities more reliably. The ministry emphasised that the new operation will be a fresh registration process rather than a superficial re‑capture of information.
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