The government is set to introduce biometric verification into Ghana’s SIM registration process before the end of 2026, Minister of Communications, Digital Technology and Innovations, Samuel Nartey George, has announced.

The Minister disclosed this at the Government Accountability Series held at the Jubilee House in Accra yesterday, saying the move would form part of the next phase of the SIM registration exercise.

Mr. George said Parliament had passed the Legislative Instrument (LI) governing SIM registration, clearing the way for the implementation of the new verification requirement.

Under the proposed system, subscribers will be required to provide biometric details, including fingerprints, to complete the registration process.

Subscribers are expected to be given a specified period within which to undertake the biometric verification, with sanctions likely to apply to those who fail to comply.

The government believes the introduction of biometric verification will strengthen the identification of subscribers, improve the reliability of SIM registration data and enhance security within Ghana’s telecommunications sector.

Mr. George said the government remained committed to updating the country’s regulatory framework to reflect emerging developments in the digital environment.

“The work is far from finished, and I will not pretend otherwise. But the direction is unmistakable, the results are measurable, and the resolve of this Ministry is unshaken,” he said.

The latest measure follows challenges encountered during the SIM registration exercise, which commenced in October 2021.

The initial process required subscribers to link their SIM cards to their Ghana Cards before completing biometric registration at customer care centres or authorised agents of their respective network providers.

By October 2022, approximately 28.96 million SIM cards had been linked to Ghana Cards, representing 67.28 per cent of all SIM cards issued. However, only 18.93 million, equivalent to 44.28 per cent, had completed both stages of the registration process.

Although the exercise was officially brought to an end on May 31, 2023, after several extensions, more than 10 million subscribers had still not fully completed the registration requirements.

Telecommunications operators subsequently began blocking SIM cards that had not been fully registered, with MTN Ghana alone blocking approximately 5.4 million numbers.

The Ministry and the National Communications Authority (NCA) have since recognised shortcomings in the earlier exercise, particularly regarding its objectives of reducing fraud and restoring public confidence in communication services.

The new biometric verification requirement is consequently expected to provide an additional layer of identity authentication by ensuring that SIM cards are connected to verified individuals through biometric data.

The system is also intended to make it significantly more difficult for individuals to register SIM cards using false or fraudulent identities, thereby strengthening the integrity of Ghana’s telecommunications ecosystem.