Government has set December 31 2013 as deadline for the ongoing SIM card registration exercise.
This means that all SIM card which would have been registered by December 31 2013 would be deactivated.
Transport, Works and Supply Minister Yamfwa Mukanga announced the development when he addressed the nation on ZNBC TV Friday evening.
Mr Mukanga also announced that over 4.4 million people have so far registered their SIM cards.
He said MTN which commenced the SIM card registration exercise on 23 July 2011 has the highest number of registered subscribers standing at 2.4 million.
Mr Mukanga revealed that Airtel which started the registration process on 31 August 2012 has so far registered 1.7 million of its subscribers with Zamtel in distant third having registered 352,753 subscribers from 31 October 2012.
“Taking due cognisance of the law and the progress made and having due regard for rural areas, government has set 15 Novermber 2013 as the deadline after which anyone procuring, selling or activating SIM cards in respect of which the person does not provide valid identity documents shall be liable for prosecution,” Mr Mukanga said.
“Furthermore, I wish to inform the nation that 31 December 2013 is the deadline by which all existing SIM cards in circulation that have not been registered ought to be registered.”
“This means that anyone in possession of electronic communication apparatus that utilises SIM cards and has not yet registered is requested to register with their electronic communication network or service provider. You may wish to note that after 31 December 2013, any SIM card that would not have been registered will be deactivated.”
Government issued the SI number 65 of 2011 on 28th June 2011which makes it mandatory for the sellers and network operators to capture identity details of persons to whom a SIM card is sold and number assigned.
Obviously.
Why now?
SIm card will be a see you card
I m still trying to find either an older relative from my village who in their life time will not have a cell phone or a deceased one in order to register them! It is tit for tat!
Wont register n will instead buy a satellite phone
At last we have dead line. I hope zits is working closely with the mobile providers who may suffer great losses if no measures are put in place. By the way how many phone subscribers do we have in Zambia?
I mean zicta
THE MINISTER SHOULD HAVE SAID 4.4 MILLION SIM CARDS HAVE BEEN REGISTERED.ONE PERSON IS REGISTERING MORE THAN ONE SIM CARDS…
FIND OUT THE TOTAL NUMBER OF SUBSCRIBERS
…are MTN figures real or a tool to entice more pipo to register….?… just like in a democratic politics(political parties is about numbers)……if a good number don’t register…de-activating ‘threat’ exercise wont see the day light…service providers wont comply….to them even one subscriber is very important to their business…..i’m still not convinced with the reasons advanced for registration of the SIM card….i’m one of the subscribers awaiting to be de-activated. When I bought MTN sim card 4years ago this was not part of the condition. I will comply when I buy a new card after de-activation of the one I have bcoz the new card will have the registration conditions…and MTN must be ready to refund me the MTN fon I got from them bcoz it wl be useless to me…
‘This means that all SIM card which would have been registered by December 31 2013 would be deactivated.’ Hahahaha.
So what were the benefits of this exercise? This is a sheer waste of time….only there to spy on the sheep using the Chinese equipment…as for switching off let them try I doubt it if the network providers will let them.
Wake up people!!
Zambians expressing ignorance of fighting crime in the 21st century right here on this blog. Aren’t you ashamed of yourselves? When you go to Europe you can’t get a phone without a passport or Official national identity card. Every number must be tracked in case thieves and robbers used them. Unless you are scared of being spied on by your own government, get a PhD in computer programming and find a way to by pass networking technology. It’s good for curbing crime. The police must also have a data base of all communications taking place. All illegal deals must be brought under the book and scrutinized. Way to go for Zambia. Stalkers and other technology abusers must stop. Simple programming of database is taking course in Zambia. Data base management. Everyone must know and learn…
It is a good thing and works well in Europe. But in Zambia I strongly suspect the PF will use it monitor those reading the ZWD and posting comments. In other word the PF intend to use it to stifle dissent and abrogate freedom of speech.
Ubufi iwe,you’re in the UK and you must know that only when getting a contract phone in a shop will they ask you for ID. It is also possible to get a contract phone online and all they do is a credit check which involves checking that you’re on the voters roll.
For pay as you go phones, you’re only required to provide your name and address,they don’t photocopy any ID.
…@Pro
which European country are u referring to..?….right now even without the registration..my fon can be traced and can even trace the location I was calling from….you think the so called thieves or robbers are so dumb to use a fon they registered in their name to commit crime….they will just attack u, grab your fon, use it and throw it away. If you talk about tracking political treacherous characters and opponents I will understand. We must have a scientific approach….give a figure over a certain period of the crimes committed within Zambian borders which were directly linked use of mobile phone..
Just like (No. 9) above, I’m not convinced of the reasons advanced for SIM registration. I think this registration is mainly being done for surveillance purposes. I’ll reluctantly register on 31/12/2013.
Airtel claims a customer base of 5 million+ subscribers and only 1.7 have registered so far thats just 34%…. ok what if the rest of us do not register, coz i havent, hav u calculated the economic impact of the permanent subscriber load sheding exercise mentioned here? i think you need to revise your strategy and encourage more voluntary registration not utuma threats
What a sad new year’s present from a dictatorial government!
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