According to the letter, the NIA said it cannot confirm that the data being collected by the telcos “will meet the standard to enable successful verification against the National Identification System (NIS) database.”
The letter dated 13th September 2021 was written in response to the Chief Executive Officer of the Ghana Chamber of Telecommunications Kenneth Ashigbey, who had made a request for some technical clarifications on the potential interface between the National Identification System (NIS) and the planned SIM registration exercise scheduled to commence on 1st October 2021.
A statement signed by Head of Public Affairs of the NIA, Abudu Abdul-Ganiyu described the situation as unfortunate, especially as it has led to criticism of the Authority.
“The NIA notes that various meanings, interpretations, intentions and motives have
been assigned to the said letter, resulting in concern, confusion and strident criticism.”
The statement adds that “The NIA stands by every statement contained in its response letter of 13th September 2021 as being technically factual, accurate, correct and honest”.
In addressing concerns that the NIA is not supportive of the sim card re-registration, the statement said ” The NIA fully supports SIM card registration in the country and does not in any way contest the mandate of the Ministry of Communications and Digitalization (MoCD) or the National Communication Authority (NCA) to implement SIM card registration in accordance with law. Indeed, NIA has fully co-operated, in good faith and to the best of its abilities, with the MoCD and the NCA.” “The leaked letter of 13th September 2021 currently in circulation was written more than four months ago and should not be seen as having been written in January 2022; it should also not be construed as constituting an attack on the importance of the on-going SIM card registration exercise.”
The NIA is not happy that official correspondence between two institutions would be leaked
and used for improper purposes.
The Authority condemns such conduct which undermines public trust and dissipates the energies of public officials who have to address same.
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