A member of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) communication team, Yaw Opoku Mensah, has raised concerns that the government’s ongoing SIM re-registration exercise may be serving political rather than security purposes.
Speaking over the weekend, Mensah questioned the need for a new registration, noting that existing verification systems, such as the *402# code, already allow Ghanaians to confirm SIM ownership using their Ghana Card and date of birth.
He alleged that the exercise, officially presented as a national security measure, could instead be a tool to financially support party grassroots members. “We need government money to feed the footsoldiers… to run our homes, campaign, and party activities,” Mensah claimed, suggesting that loyalists are being recruited into the exercise to manage growing dissatisfaction over employment within party ranks.
The remarks cast doubt on whether the initiative is strictly aimed at data integrity and national security, raising questions about potential political patronage.
The Ministry of Communications and Digitalisation, together with the National Communications Authority, continues to defend the exercise as vital for national security. President John Dramani Mahama has also stressed the importance of SIM registration in strengthening national systems but has not directly responded to the allegations raised by Mensah.
The comments have intensified public debate over the purpose of the re-registration, as critics question the intersection of governance, security policy, and partisan interests.
