SIM Deactivation Saga: List of Subscribers Exempted

Minister of Communications and Digitalisation, Ursula Owusu-Ekuful has announced a list of subscribers exempted from “punitive measures for non-registration”.

These include exemptions for individuals without Ghana Cards who notify the NCA with proof of application for the Ghana card, subscribers outside the country and subscribers facing genuine challenges during the registration process.

Meanwhile, in Recognition of the fact that not everyone has a Ghana Card, individuals who have not registered have been asked to submit evidence of having applied for their Ghana Card to the NCA.

“Subscribers who are currently outside the country have also been exempted from the registration process. Once they activate roaming on their phones, the MNOs can identify that they are outside the country and they are expected to register their SIM cards using their passports. The NCA has directed that SIM cards detected to be outside the country for a period of 6 months should be temporarily exempted until the subscribers can complete their registration,” she added.

List of Exemptions

• Members of the Diplomatic Corps

• Staff of Ghana Missions and Ghana Armed Forces Abroad

• Refugees

• SIMs exempted due to Ghana Card Issues sent by the NCA Complaints Team

• Number of SIMs abroad (excluding staff of Ghana Missions and Ghana Armed Forces abroad) *

• Mobile Money Agents, Merchants and EVDs (have been given 1 month to regularize their Registrations) or be blocked permanently and blacklisted