SIM re-registration not financially prudent, says IERPP fellow
In a note copied to the media, the IERPP development economist argued that the decision to re-register SIM cards is not in Ghana’s best interest and must be abandoned
Dr Frank Bannor, a senior research fellow at the Institute of Economic Research and Public Policy (IERPP), has questioned the rationale behind the Mahama government’s decision to register SIM cards again.
In a note copied to the media, the development economist argues that the decision is not in Ghana’s best interest and must be abandoned.
“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 questioned.
Bannor stressed that it makes little financial sense to commit money to an exercise that has been completed once successfully.
“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?”
Kick against “profligacy”
Bannor warned against wastefulness and insisted that Parliament should kick against such wasteful spending by the government.
“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,” he said.
“This looks like a create, loot and share scheme undertaken by the government of the day. Spending money to re-register our SIM cards doesn’t make financial sense.
“If there were loopholes, they should use technology to fix them instead of throwing away what has been done already,” he advised.
The Minister of Communication, Digital Technology and Innovations, Samuel Nartey George, recently announced that a new SIM card registration exercise will take place on 25 June 2025.
A number of Ghanaians have criticised the move loudly, demanding to know, among other things, the rationale behind it in the light of the country’s financial difficulties.
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