Minister of Communications and Digitalisation, Ursula Owusu-Ekuful, has warned Ghanaians without a Ghana Card to acquire them because life in Ghana will soon be unbearable without the card.
Although it is the prerogative of every Ghanaian to register for the card, they should also bear in mind that their action will have consequences, the minister told host Kwami Sefa Kayi in an interview on Peace FM’s morning show “Kokrokoo”.
When asked what she will do to those who choose not to comply with the directives to register their SIM cards with Ghana Card, Ursula Owusu-Ekuful said; “You can’t begrudge them.” That’s their prerogative, but actions have consequences… So, as you have made up your mind not to do it, it’s your prerogative. It’s your choice, but when the consequences come, don’t blame your network operators or the government”.
She, however, emphasized that “it’s mandatory that you shall use the Ghana Card for SIM registration purposes . . . It is mandatory for us to use the Ghana Card for good reason . . . It is in our interest to use a single identifier through our life for a good database”.
The Minister further stated that the resultant effect of not participating in the ongoing Ghana Card registration exercise is that: “It will be difficult to live and work in this country without the Ghana Card at some stage.”
President Akufo-Addo, says the effects of the Slave Trade have been devastating to the African continent and to the African Diaspora.
According to him, the entire period of slavery stifled Africa’s economic, cultural and psychological progress.
Speaking at the Reparations and Racial Healing Summit on Monday, 1st August 2022, President Akufo-Addo stressed that reparations for Africa and the African diaspora are long overdue.
He bemoaned the fact that the subject of reparations “becomes a debate” only when it comes to Africa and Africans.
According to the President, when the British ended slavery, all the owners of enslaved Africans received reparations to the tune of 20 million pounds sterling, the equivalent today of 20 billion pounds sterling, but enslaved Africans themselves did not receive a penny. Likewise in the United States, owners of slaves received 300 dollars for every slave they owned; the slaves themselves received nothing.
Indeed, in the case of Haiti, the country had to pay reparations amounting to $21 billion to French slaveholders in 1825 for the victory of the great Haitian Revolution, the first in the Americas and the Caribbean which freed the slaves.
President Akufo-Addo continued, “Native Americans have received and continue to receive reparations; Japanese-American families, who were incarcerated in internment camps in America during World War II, received reparations. Jewish people, six million of whom perished in the concentration camps of Hitlerite Germany, received reparations, including homeland grants and support”.
He contended that, “So, it is time for Africa, 20 million of whose sons and daughters had their freedoms curtailed and sold into slavery, also to receive reparations.”
Whilst reiterating that no amount of money can restore the damage caused by the Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade and its consequences, which have spanned many centuries, the President stated that “nevertheless, it is now time to revive and intensify the discussions about reparations for Africa. Indeed, the time is long overdue.”
He, thus, asked participants at the Summit not to overly concern themselves with modalities for the payment of reparations, but, rather, work to establish, unequivocally, first the justice in the call for reparations.
“And, even before these discussions on reparations conclude, the entire continent of Africa deserves a formal apology from the European nations involved in the slave trade for the crimes and damage it has caused to the population, psyche, image and character of the African the world over,” the President added.
With the Caribbean Community, CARICOM, having taken the lead in the reparations debate, President Akufo-Addo urged the African Union to engage with “our kith and kin from the diaspora”, and form a united front to advance the cause of reparations.
“The discourse on reparations cannot succeed without emphasis on racial healing. We need to heal from the wrongs of the past in order to capitalise on the opportunities that await us in the future,” he added.
The integrity of the Ghana card, according to Dr. Peter Otokunor, deputy general secretary of the opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC), has allegedly been compromised.
According to him, “political and shady techniques are being utilized to discriminate against persons who are otherwise eligible to hold the Ghana card.”
In an interview with Joy FM’s Top Story on Monday, Dr. Otokunor made this statement.
Because of the political prejudice this administration is using while registering members, he added, “The Ghana card is experiencing an integrity dilemma.”
He claims that by removing these obstacles to registration, the card’s integrity might be recovered.
Additionally, in response to Vice President Mahamudu Bawumia’s suggestion that the Ghana Card might end up becoming the main form of identification for voters in future elections, Dr. Otukunor expressed a different point of view on the matter.
He claims that he opposes using the Ghana card in place of voter identification in the 2024 elections.
“Nobody should delude him or herself that making such comments and bringing such public discourse will get Ghanaians to support the idea that we are going to use the Ghana card for elections,” he stressed.
He explained that this is due to the fact that Ghanaians are not yet prepared to use their Ghana cards for elections, adding that “the system is not ready, the membership and coverage are not ready, and the extent of the depth of the registration is not up to the point where we can use it as a basis to vote.”
He did not, however, completely rule out the possibility of future use of the Ghana card.
“I subscribe to the view that if we are able to exclude all these possibilities of excluding people and preventing them from getting the Ghana card from the registration system, there may be a point in time where the integrity of the card would get to a point where we can use it to vote,” he noted
According to information that has reached Countryghana, a mentally unstable woman killed a guy in Accra’s Kwame Nkrumah Circle.
The mentally unstable woman used a large stone to commit the murder while the unidentified man was asleep somewhere around the Kwame Nkrumah Interchange, according to audio and video details provided by an eyewitness.
Ikem (not his real name), the eyewitness, told Countryghana that the woman was well-known for frequently throwing stones at moving automobiles on the stretch.
He continued by saying that the dead had also thrown stones at the woman in an effort to dissuade her from continuing this risky behavior.
This continued for some time till the deceased left to take care of other matters..
“The mad woman was sitting just across the street and the guy was also seated there, and the guy was throwing stones at the mad lady – sacking her to move away from where he was seated. As he did that, the woman kept dodging the stones.
“The woman also gathered the stones to retaliate but instead, she was throwing them at the cars and motorbikes on the road. After some time, the guy went roaming for about two, three hours and came and slept on the pavement. So, when the mad woman saw him, I think she took revenge,” he said.
When contacted, the Ghana Police Service said that it was yet to confirm the incident.
After penning Sista Afia’s smash hit song “Asuoden,” Stephen Kwabena Siaw, also known as Ayesem, revealed what enraged him.
“The reason Sista Afia troubles popped up is that on her digital stores the song Asuoden that I created for her, but later I saw that the song was written by Sista Afia and Kuami Eugene. That’s when I got upset and contacted her on the phone,” he said.
When I spoke with her, she said she forgot, but later when she refused to give me credit on her digital shops, that’s when I got angry. “She went on UTV for an interview and such a great platform she didn’t even mention my name that I wrote the song for her,” he added on the Kastle Drive Show.
Ayesem revealed in a one-on-one interview with Amansan Krakye that the majority of female artists in Ghana are reluctant to inform the audience that they have songwriters working behind the scenes for them.
He added on Kastle FM in Cape Coast, “Most of the female artists in Ghana feel awkward telling people that there are certain ghost composers who write songs for them and I write songs, not some of the females and it’s not Sista Afia alone.
He concluded, as reported by countryghana.com/, "There are other outstanding female musicians in Ghana that I do create songs for them but they always give me the credit for being a ghost songwriter, so there is no need to go sit somewhere and even mention their names."
Mahamudu Bawumia, vice president, has made hints that the Ghana card would be used as the main form of identification for voters in future elections.
According to him, if effectively implemented, holders who turn 18 will automatically be added to the voter list; this step will not only remove the stress of waiting in line to register for the ID but will also help the nation save a significant amount of money.
Since a few months ago, the opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC) has resisted the concept of replacing Voters’ ID with the Ghana card, claiming that it is a part of a larger plot to deny eligible voters their right to vote.
However, Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia stated that “very soon you’ll see that our difficulty with voter registration would disappear” while describing the necessity of the replacement.
“It’s only a matter of time. If not at the next elections, the elections after, because we spend so much on voter registration but one’s unique identifier is determined and you can’t have underage people coming to register and vote.”
He added that the “Ghana card will be a good identification document as we’re already seeing so that we sanitize the voter registration system.”
The Vice President also praised the Ghana card and unique address system, noting how it has already saved the nation millions of cedis and the potential it has for the future.
The strategy is taken by the Ministry of Communications in Ghana. Card and SIM card registration procedures have been dubbed “shambolic” by Sam Nartey George, the Member of Parliament for Ningo Prampram.
Sam George described the entire procedure as a “mess,” and he insisted that Ursula Owusu-Ekuful, the minister of communications, be held accountable for the difficulties that the Ghanaian government and its citizens are currently facing.
Ursula Owusu-Ekuful extended the deadline for the SIM card re-registration till Sunday, July 31, 2022, and in response, the ranking member of the parliamentary select committee on communications criticized the communications ministry of imposing unrealistic registration deadlines.
“Ursula Owusu assigns blame for the confusion surrounding registration to everyone save herself.
“The deadlines she has given are impractical and poised to fail even before commencement. We are uncertain the robustness of the paid-for app she says would launch 2 days after her deadline has lapsed.
“This is a tragic comedy of poor policy decisions, shambolic implementation plans, and a clueless approach to technology rollout.
“Her shambolic public policy implementation would be studied in lecture rooms across the world as how not to implement a public policy,” he shared on social media.
Touching on the directive by the Communications Minister for Ghanaians in the diaspora to use their passports as the document for registration, Sam George wondered why the same government that rejected the use of the passports by Ghanaian residents would accept the same for residents outside Ghana.
“Again, we see incoherence in her directive to Ghanaians in the diaspora to use their Passports. The same passports she is refusing for us to use within the jurisdiction,” he said.
Ursula Owusu-Ekuful said on Sunday that the re-registration would now last until September 30, 2022.
She revealed that Ghanaians could now register their sims from the comfort of their homes via an app that would be released in the coming days. But the Ghanaian will have to pay GHC5.00 for the procedure.
“Upon consultation, the Government has decided to grant a final conditional extension.” The program will be extended to September 30 to end on the anniversary of its commencement, which will give us one full year of SIM re-registration,” the minister stated.
“It will be reviewed at the end of this month [July] and any SIM that has not been fully registered by the end of August will be barred from certain services including voice and data. It will also be more expensive to use unregistered SIMs,” she added
Ursula Owusu-Ekuful, minister of communications and digitalization, has said that a self-service application can now be used to complete the process of re-registering SIM cards.
She said that the mobile app would be accessible starting next week on either the Android or iOS operating systems.
On Sunday, July 31, the minister stated at the Minister’s Press Briefing that the SIM registration through the app will nevertheless incur a fee of GHC 5.
If nothing unexpected happens, the SIM Registration App will be available for download this week on both Android and iOS. A 5-cedi surcharge will be applied to each registration made through the app.
“Non-resident Ghanaians who do not have the Ghana Card can use their passports to complete the process but will be required to update their details with the Ghana Card once they acquire it.” They have up to December 2022 to do so. I urge them to comply with these directives and to contact the NCA if they have any peculiar challenges,” the minister added.
The deadline for SIM card re-registration has been extended to September 30, 2022, according to a statement from Ursula Owusu-Ekuful, Minister of Communication and Digitalization.
The government appointee, who spoke to the media on Sunday, said she “reluctantly” extended the exercise, which was originally supposed to expire on July 31, 2022.
The delay came the following dialogue with the industry, the Communications Minister stated on Sunday during a news briefing. The process encountered some difficulties..
“Upon consultation with the industry and in view of the challenges enumerated above, I have very reluctantly decided to grant a conditional extension. The program will be extended to 30th September to end on the anniversary of its commencement.”
“That will give us one full year of SIM registration. It will be reviewed at the end of this month and any SIM that has not been fully registered by the end of August will be barred from receiving certain services including voice and data services,” she said.
Despite difficulties with the Ghana Card, such as long lines, the Minister observed that many Ghanaians still failed to register their sims after the deadline was extended.
Consequently, this deadline extension is the last one.
“The statistics indicate that there was a 90% drop in sim reregistration, as soon as the first deadline was extended on 21st March. Until a week ago there were no cues, people started going to register when they realised that deadline was imminent after going to sleep.”
“The mobile network operators, NCA, and the NIA have all engaged additional staff, procured the necessary logistics and are incurring significant expenses to conduct this exercise Succesful, any extension of the process increases their cost,” she added.
This comes as a large number of Ghanaians swarmed telecom stores all over the nation in an effort to register their SIM cards in time for the second deadline on Sunday, July 31.
A retired military commander is accused of assaulting Solomon Kusi and a few other persons, according to a social media user.
Kusi claims that a man named Major Konadu, who he claims to be a soldier, threatened to shoot him for refusing to give him permission to use a portion of his land for commercial development.
“Never in my life have I been so afraid. Because I disagree with him using a plot of property in high tension directly in front of my land for commercial purposes, this soldier (major Konadu) threatened to shoot me by shooting warning shots, the man stated on his Facebook wall.
According to Kusi, the aforementioned Major Konadu attacked him and others before calling a military unit headed by Abu to the scene to continue the assault.
He cut me on the hand with a live assault rifle, called soldiers from 4BN (headed by one Abu), and they pulled me to the floor of their pickup truck. He’s done that before, so this is nothing new. He did that against a Kofi Job employee for the first time in the area. He pointed the gun towards the ground and fired a warning shot,” he continued.
Major Konadu, who was brandishing an AK47 assault rifle, is heard yelling, “If you are fools I will show you,” in a number of the footage that accompanied Kusi’s post. I’ll show you where the power is if you don’t want to follow the law.
