Speaker of Parliament SIM card deactivated despite re-registration

The official Subscriber Identity Module (SIM) card of Speaker Alban Bagbin, which is registered in the name of Parliament, has reportedly been disabled despite being fully registered, according to Sam George, the Deputy Ranking Member on the Communications Committee of Parliament.

The MP claims that this highlights the shortcomings in the National Communications Authority’s (NCA) present blocking of SIM cards.

Speaking on the floor of the house, he claimed that in addition to the Speaker, numerous other professionals had been impacted by the exercise, which is significantly affecting their way of life.

“Over 8 million SIM cards have been disconnected including that of the Speaker of Parliament. His official SIM card has been disconnected even though it was registered in the name of the Parliament of Ghana. We have judges, we have lawyers, we have doctors, and MPs, whose SIM cards were disconnected. My SIM card was [also] disconnected,” Sam George stated.

It was time, he said, to admit that the National Identification Authority (NIA), particularly the offices in different districts, had failed to provide cards to applicants.

He said it is crucial that the Authority appear before the House to respond to inquiries on the reasons for the delay in the issuance of Ghana cards.

Therefore, the inability to register a SIM card is not the fault of any Ghanaian. We are requesting the Ghana Card from the National Identification Authority so that we can register our SIM cards, Sam George added.

The National Communication Authority (NCA) has terminated millions of SIM cards that aren’t connected to Ghana Cards.

This number, according to the Chamber of Telecommunications, comprises SIM Cards that have only undergone the first step of registration and those that have never been connected to the Ghana Card.

The impacted individuals won’t be able to send or receive SMS messages or conduct any financial transactions, according to the Chamber.

Source: Ghanatodayonline.com/Nana Kwaku Boffah