Ghana’s SIM registration process questioned as bio data is not verified against national database
According to Techfocus24, a media outlet, the bio data being captured as part of Ghana’s ongoing SIM registration is not being verified against that of the National Identification Authority (NIA), despite claims by the National Communications Authority (NCA) that it needed a second set of bio data for a robust SIM register. The NIA was…
According to Techfocus24, a media outlet, the bio data being captured as part of Ghana’s ongoing SIM registration is not being verified against that of the National Identification Authority (NIA), despite claims by the National Communications Authority (NCA) that it needed a second set of bio data for a robust SIM register.
The NIA was said to have slapped a high charge on telcos for access to the NIA database for immediate verification, which resulted in the NCA resorting to the current process. The bio data captured with the NCA-sponsored App is sitting on Kelni-GVG’s Common Monitoring Platform at the National Information Technology Agency (NITA), which is another agency of the Ministry of Communications and Digitalization.
There is no clear plan in sight on how to verify that bio data against that of the NIA, and it is being stored for the use of some people with vested interests and not for any national cause.
The current status quo is that the only verifiable database behind every SIM card registered now are nothing more than the NIA database and the SIM card information sitting with the telcos. There have been concerns that fraudulent SIM registration is happening, and strange SIM cards are being linked to people’s Ghana Cards without their consent.
The NCA is informing Ghanaians of an ongoing process to introduce a short code, possibly *402#, that will allow them to check if their SIM cards are linked to their identities. However, the media is the one exposing instances of fraud as they occur.
