Abubakar Issaka, President of the Cyber Security Experts Association Ghana, has said previous SIM card registration exercises using biodata failed to prevent mobile money (MoMo) fraud, underscoring the need for stronger digital security measures.
Speaking on The Forum on Asaase Radio on Saturday (21 March) Issaka said the 2021 SIM registration, initiated under then Communications Minister Ursula Owusu, used devices that collected biodata and contactless fingerprints to sync with the National Identification Authority (NIA) database.
“From a professional standpoint, it served a certain level of purpose, but ideally it was not a complete process,” he said.
Defence
Issaka highlighted cases where SIM cards were registered using deceased cardholders’ Ghana Cards, complicating fraud investigations. In one instance, a 54,000-cedi MoMo fraud involved a SIM registered to a deceased person, forcing authorities to restart their investigation.
He said subsequent registration exercises in 2022 and 2023 relied on smartphones with cameras rather than dedicated biometric devices, creating additional verification challenges.
“Cybercrime continues to rise in Ghana, often exceeding 100% year-on-year, sometimes even 300%. Robust registration systems are essential to mitigate this menace,” Issaka said.
Renewed debate
The development comes amid renewed debate over the SIM registration policy under President John Dramani Mahama’s administration. At a public event, the President described the previous registration exercise as flawed, citing it as justification for the upcoming initiative.
But the President’s comment did not sit well with former sector minister Ursula Owusu-Ekuful who describes 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.
“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.”
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