Minister for Communications, Digital Technology and Innovations, Sam George, has defended government’s decision to undertake a fresh SIM card registration exercise, saying the move is intended to improve the security and credibility of Ghana’s telecommunications system.

Addressing Parliament on Wednesday, the Minister said the new exercise is designed to address shortcomings identified in the previous registration process, particularly weaknesses in identity verification.

According to him, the earlier exercise failed to integrate subscriber information with the National Identification Authority (NIA) database, leaving the SIM register vulnerable to fraud, identity theft and other criminal activities.

Mr. George said the new registration process will incorporate real-time biometric verification to ensure subscriber details are properly authenticated.

He added that additional security measures will be introduced to enhance the integrity of the SIM registration system and strengthen confidence in the country’s digital communications infrastructure.