Former Communications Minister Ursula Owusu-Ekuful has pushed back against what she describes as attempts to discredit SIM card registration exercise carried out under her tenure, warning against “false narratives” surrounding the programme.
In a statement issued on Friday (20 March) Owusu-Ekuful said the 2022–2023 nationwide SIM registration drive, which linked nearly 30 million SIM cards to the Ghana Card, established a structured and legally compliant system that strengthened the country’s identification framework.
“The process was not perfect, but it delivered real progress,” she said, arguing that ongoing criticisms risk undermining gains made in improving digital security and identity verification.
Her comments come amid renewed debate over the SIM registration policy under the current administration led by President John Dramani Mahama.
Owusu-Ekuful criticised the government for, in her view, downplaying earlier efforts while pursuing similar policies.
“Governance is a continuum,” she said. “If something useful has been started, the responsibility of any new administration is to build on it and improve it — not to dismiss it and later replicate it.”
She questioned what she described as contradictions in the government’s approach, saying it could not publicly criticise the earlier system and later adopt the same structure and methodology.
In a strongly worded conclusion, she cautioned against personal attacks on her record, writing in Twi: “If you cannot praise me, do not tarnish my reputation.”
The SIM registration exercise, introduced to enhance national security and curb fraud, has remained a politically sensitive issue, drawing both praise for expanding the national database and criticism over implementation challenges, including long queues, technical glitches and concerns about exclusion.
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