…Calls 2026 exercise “needless drain” on national coffers
THE former Minister for Communications, Mrs. Ursula Owusu-Ekuful, has broken her silence on the government’s digital policy, firing a stinging rebuttal at her successor, Mr. Samuel Nartey George, over a proposed fresh nationwide SIM card registration exercise.
Describing the 2026 project as a “waste of time” and a “needless drain” on the country’s thin resources, the former Minister insisted that the previous exercise conducted between 2021 and 2023 was both robust and legally sound.
Mrs. Owusu-Ekuful’s intervention follows claims by the current Minister for Communication, Digital Technology, and Innovations, Mr. Sam George, that the existing database is “infected” and lacks the requisite biometric matches to ensure national security.
The “80 Percent” Match
In a sharp response that has sparked a national debate, Mrs. Owusu-Ekuful dismissed the current administration’s “invalid data” claims as political spin.
She pointed to a 2025 audit which reportedly confirmed that 80 percent of the facial biometrics captured during her tenure match the National Identification Authority (NIA) records perfectly.
“To suggest that the work done by the NCA and the telcos just three years ago is empty is a disservice to the professionals involved. Every active SIM card in Ghana today is already linked to a Ghana Card. That is an incontrovertible fact,” she stated.
Fiscal Concerns
The controversy comes at a time when the 2026 Budget has allocated GH₵1.3 billion to the Ministry of Communication, Digital Technology, and Innovations.
While the government maintains its “resetting” agenda, Mrs. Owusu-Ekuful argued that re-collecting existing data contradicts the state’s “fiscal consolidation” promises to the International Monetary Fund (IMF).
Further raising eyebrows is the reported GH₵5 fee per registration. Although reports suggest telecommunications companies (telcos) will absorb this cost, industry observers warn that such expenditures are often eventually passed on to the ordinary Ghanaian through higher service tariffs.
“Digital Vanity Project”
Mrs. Owusu-Ekuful further questioned the logic of forcing millions of Ghanaians back into queues for a “liveliness test” that she argues could be achieved through the existing NIA database.
“Spending millions to re-collect data that already exists is not smart governance. It looks like a high-priced digital vanity project,” the former Minister added.
The “SIM war” between the past and present ministers highlights a deep-seated divide over Ghana’s digital infrastructure, leaving the taxpayer to weigh the value of a “clean-slate” approach against the cost of redundant data collection.
