A statement dated March 22, 2022, signed and issued by the Minister of Communications and Digitalisation, Mrs Ursula Owusu-Ekuful said the extension of the deadline is to "ensure that every eligible SIM card is captured and we produce a credible database by the end of the exercise."

As of March 17, 2022, a total of 14,091,542 SIM cards had been linked to the Ghana Card.

Out of that, 10,348,532 had been bio-captured and 99,445 being new SIM cards, the Minister stated.

She explained:

"Due to a number of factors including the fact that over 7.5 million citizens and residents are yet to obtain Ghana Cards to enable them register their SIM cards, it is clear that the deadline for completion of the registration of the remaining active SIM cards cannot be met". Click to Tweet .

The SIM registration exercise began on October 1, 2021 and was expected to end on March 31, 2022. 

Mrs Owusu-Ekuful added that more time will also be required to update the SIM Registration App for the registration of diplomats, while a Self-Service SIM Registration App is also being developed to facilitate registration of SIM cards for Ghanaians resident abroad.

She said this will be operational by mid-April.

"These issues make it imperative for the deadline to be extended to ensure that every eligible SIM card is captured and we produce a credible database by the end of the exercise."

Below is a copy of the statement

Extension Of Deadline for SIM Card Registration

The SIM registration exercise began on 1st October, 2021 and is expected to end on 31st March, 2022. As at 17th March, 14,091,542 SIM Cards have been linked to the Ghana Card, 10,348,532 Bio-Captures conducted and 99,445 New SIMs registered.

Due to a number of factors including the fact that over 7.5 million citizens and residents are yet to obtain Ghana Cards to enable them register their SIM cards, it is clear that the deadline for completion of the registration of the remaining active SIM cards cannot be met.

More time will also be required to update the SIM Registration App for the registration of diplomats, while a Self-Service SIM Registration App is also being developed to facilitate registration of SIM cards for Ghanaians resident abroad.

This will be operational by mid April These issues make it imperative for the deadline to be extended to ensure that every eligible SIM card is captured and we produce a credible database by the end of the exercise.

The Ministry of Communications and Digitalisation has therefore extended the deadline for the registration of Subscriber Identification Module (SIM) cards to 31st July, 2022.

We commend all Ghanaians and foreign residents in Ghana for their support in ensuring that through this exercise, we develop and build a credible SIM database with integrity, which will help address issues of cyber fraud and promote secure SIM Card based transactions as part of our efforts to digitally transform the economy.