The President of IMANI Africa, Franklin Cudjoe, former Member of Parliament for Kumbungu, Ras Mubarak, and some twenty prominent Ghanaians have urged citizens not to make mobile phone calls on Tuesday, February 8, 2022.
The group of 22 Ghanaians says the call to boycott phone calls on February 8 is in protest of what they describe as “the circus surrounding the SIM card re-registration exercise”.
The group noted that there is no law that requires the mobile network subscribers to “Re-register” their SIM cards hence should be stopped.
“Following the failure of the National Communications Authority (NCA) and Mobile Network Operators (MNOs) to address concerns associated with the legality and chaotic Sim-Reregistration Exercise, we the undersigned Concerned Mobile Network Subscribers, and the over 7000 online petitioners, call upon our fellow countrymen and women to join our campaign for a #NoCallsDay boycott of the MNOs on Tuesday 8th February 2022.
“On Tuesday, we are appealing to Ghanaians and all mobile network users within Ghana not to make and or received calls and all associated mobile network activities from 6 am to 12 midday.
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“The #NoCallsDay boycott on 8th February would be the first in a series of national boycotts to protest against the illegal and inhumane process of re-registration of SIM cards,” they said in a statement.
It added that any attempt to impose this on subscribers or block their lines would amount to an infringement of their property rights.
Our demands are as follows:
(I) The National Communication Authority (NCA) should immediately withdraw its directive for mobile network customers to re-register their SIM cards by 31st March 2022.
(II) When the appropriate legal framework is in place, a re-registration exercise can be done without having subscribers spend productive hours and several days in long queues in the midst of a ravaging Covid-19 pandemic.
(II) There’s understandably a need to eliminate crime. But the fight against criminals must be within the law. We, therefore, demand that the NCA and Mobile Network Operators (MNOs) must come up with a better and innovative way of re-registering the SIM cards by first amending existing law; and secondly, to do so without the current inhumane re-registration process we are witnessing.
If the NCA and the MNOs fail to heed these demands, we shall, starting Tuesday, 8th February 2022 begin the first of a series of planned boycotts until the rights of customers to be treated with dignity are respected.
Signed:
Hon. Ras Mubarak
Prof. Raymond Atuguba
Dr. Kwesi Owusu
H. E. Hassan Ayariga
Mr. Franklin Cudjoe
Mr. Kofi Bentil
Mr. Gyedu Blay Ambolley
Mr. Kofi Kakraba Pratt
Hon. Mrs. Mona Quartey
Mr. Samson Lardy Anyenini
Mr. James Afedo
Mr. Selorm Branttie
Mr. Francis Kofi Korankye-Sakyi
Mr. Manasseh Azure Awuni
Akyaaba Addai – Sebo
Ms. Amma Sarfo-Kantanka
Mr. Kwame Mfodwo
Mr Michael Ofori – Akuffo
Dr. Godfred Seidu Jassaw
Nana Kwaku Agyeman
Mr. Appiah Adomako
Mr. Sulemana Issifu
However, the government through the Communications Minister, Ursula Owusu Ekuful cautioned that failure to adhere to the new directive to re-register the SIM card will result in the loss of numbers.
