In a Facebook post after an engagement with the NCA, he said the Authority provided an account of previous registration exercises and acknowledged challenges with data captured, but insisted these issues do not justify starting the process all over again.
According to him, an audit of about 2.2 million SIM registrations showed that 1.8 million—representing over 80%—were compliant.
“This suggests that potentially over 80% of the 40 million subscribers have their facial biometrics matched with the NIA database without any problem,” he argued.
Dr Mahama further noted that earlier challenges with biometric verification were due to lack of access to the National Identification Authority (NIA) database, stressing that authorities should now use that access to validate existing data instead of initiating a new registration.
He also referenced a June 2023 parliamentary briefing which highlighted issues such as unauthorized use of Ghana Cards, SIM database breaches, and registrations exceeding the cap, noting that remedies like the 402 code system were proposed without recommending a fresh exercise.
Questioning the NCA’s position, he revealed that some officials admitted their own SIM registrations were successfully verified. “Why should a potential 20% of problematic cases compel the verified majority to go through a fresh process?”he asked.
While acknowledging assurances that the new registration would be free, Dr Mahama cautioned that taxpayers would ultimately bear the cost and urged authorities to improve existing systems rather than replace them entirely.
