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SIM Card Registration Fraud: People’s Ghana Card data are being stolen – Sam George
The Member of Parliament for Ningo Prampram, Sam Nartey George, has alleged the data of Ghanaians are being stolen through the ongoing nationwide SIM card registration exercise.
According to him, there is evidence that Ghana Card details of Ghanaians are being used to register SIMS cards that are not theirs without their knowledge.
In a Facebook post shared on Thursday, April 4, 2023, the MP said that the breach in data of Ghanaians is the reason why the National Communication Authority (NCA) has announced it is working on a short code for Ghanaians to verify the number of SIM cards their data have been used to register.
multiple breaches of citizen’s personal data during the SIM card registration exercise. A grave issue in any serious jurisdiction.
“Do not forget that I had raised this issue on the 17th of October 2022 and the response from the National Communications Authority Ghana was that they were doing mystery shopping.
“Today, the Director of Legal at the Regulator is not telling us steps taken to check the extent of the breach but is shifting responsibility to citizens to wait for an app to check if they have suffered a breach. Good graces! How low have we sunk as a nation?” parts of the post he shared read.
The MP went on to advise the NCA to take the steps below to mitigate the impact of the data breach.
- The NCA should immediately halt any further registration and conduct a thorough investigation of registration records to have determine how many SIMs have been registered with each unique Ghana Card number.
- They should then send messages to the primary number associated with each Ghana Card notifying the holder of the number of SIMs registered.
- Where there is an issue of unauthorised registration using the Ghana Card, the customer is then given a chance to raise a complaint and the Data Protection Commission Ghana is immediately activated to determine the challenges with whichever Data Processor was involved and remedial steps taken including compensation and punitive action on the Data Processor.
- 4. Based on the findings of the DPC and NCA, criminal charges for identity theft and Data breaches would be brought against the persons or entities involved in the identity theft.
The National Communication Authority, in a post shared on Facebook, on Wednesday, announced that it is working with operators to build a shortcode that the public can use to check the number of SIM cards their Ghana Card have been used to register.
The NCA stated that the public can use the shortcode on the phone and that the SIMs associated with the Ghana Card will be shown following a verification process.
“The NCA and the Telcos have already been actively working on a short code for Individual Subscribers to verify the number of SIMs associated with a Ghana card; you just type the shortcode on your phone, and after a verification process using your Ghana Card pin, the number of SIMs associated with the Ghana card will be displayed.
“There will be no need for Subscribers to physically go to the Telco to verify the same when the shortcode is operational, by the end of April 2023, after the testing has been completed and approved,” the post read.
The government is set to lay before Parliament today, November 21, a Constitutional Instrument (C.I) seeking to restrict the importation of selected strategic products into the country.
The items, numbering over 20, will include rice, tripe (popularly called “yemuadie” in Ghana), and diapers.
The government said the move is part of efforts to enhance local production.
Speaking during a press briefing in Parliament, the Minister of Trade and Industry, K.T Hammond said, “Stomach of animals, bladder and the chunk of intestines (yemuadie), the country had had to put in an amount of about $164 million towards the importation of these items. We are taking steps to ensure that in terms of rice, there’s no poverty of rice in the country.”
He emphasized, “By these restrictions, we are not going to ensure that there’s no food in the country at all; that is not the point at all. There have to be some efforts by the government to ensure that we go back to Acheampong’s operation feed yourself. There are about 22 items on the list, one of them, I think, is diapers.”
He announced the introduction of the Ghana Standards Authority Regulations 2023, which also seeks to streamline the manufacturing of cement to ensure competitive pricing.
Vice President Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia says former President John Dramani Mahama does not understand the 24-hour economy policy he is proposing.
According to the Vice President, that policy is already being implemented in the country, as hospitals, fuel companies, among others, operate a 24-hour system.
Dr. Bawumia, therefore, urged Ghanaians to ignore Mahama during the 2024 polls since he has nothing new to offer and vote for the New Patriotic Party.
“John Mahama says he has a new idea. What is the idea? He says he wants a 24-hour economy. He doesn’t even understand that policy. Today in Ghana, our hospitals work 24 hours, our electricity company works 24 hours, our water company works 24 hours, our fuel stations work 24 hours, and many chop bars work 24 hours. Today because of digitalisation, you can transfer money 24 hours, you can receive money 24 hours… So he doesn’t understand his own policy. It doesn’t make sense.”
“So I want you to vote for me in 2024 because I will bring a new vision, I will bring a new policy. Mahama is the past, Dr Bawumia is the future. If John Mahama was there, we would say we have a dumsor economy, you can’t have a 24-hour economy in dumsor. So, you want to vote for Dr Bawumia in 2024, we will take the country to new heights,” Dr Bawumia stated.
The Speaker of Parliament, Alban Bagbin, has accused the International Monetary Fund (IMF) of pressuring the House to pass a number of bills under a certificate of urgency.
Mr. Bagbin cited bills such as the Affirmative Action Bill, which is allegedly being pushed by the IMF as part of the conditionality for the balance of the $3 billion credit facility for Ghana.
Speaking at the Speaker’s Breakfast Meeting on Monday, Alban Bagbin insisted that the House will not be coerced by the IMF to pass the bill.
“Even in this budget, you can see the arm of the IMF in a lot of provisions in the budget. A critical bill like the Affirmative Action Gender Equality Bill has come to Parliament under a certificate of urgency. Please, it won’t happen; we won’t pass it under a certificate of urgency.”
“There are critical stakeholders we must consult and make sure we go together. We will not be dictated by the IMF; that one, you can be assured. This is a very critical bill that the IMF should know that we need the buy-in of the stakeholders to be able to implement it,” Alban Bagbin said.
The Affirmative Action Bill, when passed into law, would seek to expunge the historically low representation of women in decision-making spaces and promote democracy and development through all-inclusive participation.
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Mahama doesn’t understand 24hr economy; don’t vote for him – Bawumia
