The High Court Human Rights Division in Accra presided over by Her Ladyship Barbara N. Tetteh-Charway J. on Wednesday, July 13, 2022 dismissed the case challenging the legality of the ongoing SIM card registration exercise.
The case was filed by one Francis Kwarteng Arthur praying, inter alia, for an order to stop the ongoing SIM card registration exercise.
But the Court held that the SIM registration directive by the National Communications Authority (NCA) is lawful and in the public’s interest and none of the actions of the NCA violated any law.
This follows the dismissal of the injunction application filed by lawyers for the applicant late last year.
It will be recalled that the same court had on Thursday, December 9, 2021, struck out the application for an Interlocutory Injunction to halt the on-going SIM Card Registration exercise.
The decision to withdraw the application for injunction by the Applicant followed the filing of an affidavit in opposition by the NCA, which stated amongst other things, that the ongoing SIM Registration exercise is backed by law.
The SIM registration exercise is currently ongoing and will end on July 31, 2022.
Under the exercise, all Ghanaians are required to link their SIM Cards to their Ghana Card by the deadline, or their SIM Cards will be deactivated.
Meanwhile, several people are yet to get their Ghana Card. Some have registered with the National Identification Authority (NIA) but are yet to receive their cards, while others are even yet to register due to long queues at the NIA.
Ahead of the July 31, 2022 deadline, some institutions like banks have already, from July 1, started refusing service to persons who do not have Ghana Card. Any other national ID, apart from Ghana Card requires the endorsement of a senior officer of the service provider institution before one will be served.
But beginning July 31, 2022, no more grace period – SIM Cards not linked to Ghana Card will be deactivated, and persons without Ghana Card will not qualify for banking and several other services.
