A senior research fellow at the Institute of Economic Research and Public Policy (IERPP), Dr Frank Bannor, has criticized the government’s decision to undertake a fresh SIM card re-registration exercise, describing it as fiscally irresponsible and unnecessary.
In a statement shared with the media, Dr Bannor questioned the logic behind restarting a process that was already successfully carried out by a previous administration, suggesting that the new exercise amounts to wasteful spending of taxpayer funds.
“The previous government spent millions of taxpayers’ funds registering SIM cards nationwide, a very successful exercise. Why should money be spent on redoing the same exercise by this government?” he queried.
Dr Bannor warned that at a time when Ghana is grappling with serious financial constraints, embarking on another nationwide SIM registration lacks justification and could further burden the public purse.
“It is financially unwise and unsound to waste money on doing this again. What do we seek to achieve with this proposed exercise that was not achieved with the previous one?” he added.
He further called on Parliament to resist what he described as a wasteful and potentially corrupt initiative. “This level of profligacy should not be allowed by Parliament. Parliament must vehemently kick against this move by the government. It is a complete waste of our scarce resources,” Dr Bannor stressed.
The economist went as far as likening the move to a “create, loot, and share scheme,” asserting that the government could have instead used technology to resolve any data or security lapses within the current system, rather than discarding past efforts.
His comments come after Minister for Communication, Digital Technology and Innovation, Samuel Nartey George, announced that a new SIM card registration exercise would begin on June 25, 2025.
The announcement has sparked significant public backlash, with many Ghanaians questioning the rationale behind repeating an exercise that cost millions and yielded a centralized national SIM database just a few years ago.
