The Ministry of Information and Communication Technology is adamant there will be no extension of the 31 March deadline for the registration of SIM cards.
Speaking to Desert Radio on Tuesday, ministry spokesperson Shoki Kandjimi said the government was not satisfied with the number of people registered, however, noted there is no indication of another extension.
“As of 29 February 2024, Namibia had a total of 2 387 230 active SIM cards. Out of these, 1 687 742 have been successfully registered, representing a registration rate of 70,6%,” he said.
“We are not too happy about that as we thought the numbers would be around 90% by now,” he said.
By 27 December last year, mobile operators indicated that 62,5% of active SIM card users had registered.
This translated into 1 000 491 active subscribers registering since June 2022.
Then information minister Peya Mushelenga extended the registration deadline of 31 December to 31 March.
Kandjimi encouraged Namibians to get registered before the deadline this Sunday, or face being disconnected.
He stressed the risks of not being registered.
“There are issues of identify theft, so we want to put faces to numbers to make it easier for law-enforcement agencies to combat such crimes,” he said.
Stay informed with The Namibian – your source for credible journalism. Get in-depth reporting and opinions for
only N$85 a month. Invest in journalism, invest in democracy –
Subscribe Now!
