By midnight, over 7.4 million SIM cards which have since not been linked to the owner’s Ghana Card will be deactivated by the National Communication Authority (NCA).
According to the Chamber of Telecommunications, this figure includes SIM Cards which have gone through only one stage of the registration process and those that have not been linked to the Ghana Card at all.
The Chamber says the 7.4 million will not be able to make phone calls, SMS, or do any financial transaction.
Chief Executive Officer of the Chamber of Telecommunications, Dr Ken Ashigbey, explained that persons with legitimate claims can “reach out to the NCA… and the NCA will then look into your case and then ask the telcos to whitelist your number and then your number will not be blocked.”
He, however, assures that all funds in the mobile money wallets of these numbers will be secured with the Bank of Ghana for onward reclamation by the owners.
Meanwhile, the National Identification Authority (NIA) says it has successfully registered more than 17 million Ghanaians, with a projected target of capturing an additional two million within the next three months, pending the release of funds for its operations.
Speaking to the media amidst a sense of urgency among citizens striving to obtain their Ghana cards before today’s deadline, Chief Executive of the NIA, Prof Ken Attafuah, affirmed that once sufficient funding is provided, the Authority aims to complete the registration process for all Ghanaians aged 15 and above within a maximum of three months.