Zimbabwe - Regulator has extended registration for SIM cards by two months

[sw radio london] The Postal and Telecommunications Regulatory Authority of Zimbabwe (POTRAZ) has given more time to the country's three mobile phone operators to register all their subscribers' SIM cards.

Initially, the registration period ran from June to the 31st August. But Nelson Chamisa, the Minister of Information, Communications and Technology, told us Wednesday the exercise has been extended to an indefinite date. He said a new deadline would be established in the coming weeks.

'POTRAZ has decided to extend the deadline on the account of people having failed to meet the deadline of 31st August.' Chamisa said.

He added that the decision to register SIM cards was reached for security purposes and for protection of mobile phone consumers and SIM registration is a growing trend across Africa and the globe. The country's three networks, Econet, Telecel and Netone, have a combined subscriber base of about 5,8 million.

'People have been worried and concerned about issues of security, issues of privacy, secrecy and confidentiality. But when one weighs issues of the demerits and the merits, using the cost benefit analysis, the advantages outweigh the disadvantages,' he said.

The Minister explained that the advantages come in the sense that authorities will be able to trace and track sources of crimes, adding that people with nothing to hide should not worry.

'For instance, there have been cases where someone calls you, abuses you and then throws away the SIM card, once registered it becomes easy to track such people. The mobile phone has lately been used by some people not as a tool of communication but as a weapon against fellow citizens,' Chamisa said.

He added; 'This is what we are against, the transformation of a mobile phone as a beautiful gadget or tool of survival into a weapon of deception or criminality.'



In countries like Nigeria, authorities there have registered 30 million subscribers while in South Africa and Botswana, the exercise is still ongoing.

Authorities in some of these countries introduced tough laws where it would be an offence to sell a SIM card without taking fingerprints and recording the buyer's name. Also required is an address, mobile number, ID or passport number and checking their ID book or passport and a bill to confirm their address.

'In our case, what our network providers require is only proof of a customer's identity. Given that many people have landlines, it already means the service providers have their costumers' personal details. It's clear this law aims to help law enforcement agencies to identify the users of mobile numbers and track criminals using mobiles for illegal activities,' Chamisa added.

However, despite the minister's assurances, the registration remains controversial because not all mobile phone users may be willing or able to turn over personal information when they purchase a SIM card.

This is because of fears that the personal information collected could be used for government or security surveillance purposes. Under Zimbabwean laws, it is a criminal offense to spread falsehoods using a mobile phone, especially those deemed prejudicial to the state.

This law is enshrined in the Criminal Law (Codification and Reform) Act, a piece of legislation that has largely been criticized by civic organizations and human rights and media freedom activists.

Deadline Extended for Phone Subscribers to Register Sim Cards