The Namibian government last week extended its SIM card registration deadline.
This was announced by the minister of information and communication technology Peya Mushelenga, who said the SIM card registration deadline would now be extended to 31 March 2024.
The original deadline was 31 December, but the threat of users facing deactivation of SIM cards appears not to have had the desired effect. As of 27 December, according to the minister, mobile operators had indicated that about 62.5% of active SIM card users had registered. This apparently translates into 1,491,349 out of 2,383,920 active subscribers registering since June 2022.
The minister indicated that he had consulted the relevant stakeholders before extending the period for the submission of information of existing customers, and urged all subscribers to adhere to the law.
Quoted in The Namibian newspaper he said: “The registration of SIM cards is not an open-ended process. Cards not registered by the deadline will be suspended, resulting in unintended consequences. I urge all the subscribers who have not yet done so to make use of the grace period.”