Ursula Owusu-Ekuful, minister of communications, has been criticised for not listening to wise counsel, according to Sam George Nartey, the committee's deputy ranking member.
He claims that the Minister's inability to consult and interact with all industry stakeholders is the cause of the problems that have plagued the sim re-registration process since its beginning.
He said that the Minister is "trapped in her ways" on JoyNews' PM Express. You have this mess because she will do exactly what she wants to do. Nobody has all the expertise, so you need to listen to the stakeholders and interact with them as well as the NIA.
His statement follows the difficulty that has plagued the registration procedure, notably with getting a Ghana Card from the National Identification Authority (NIA) before progressing with the sim re-registration process.
Many people have been unable to register for the Ghana Card or address an identity management issue despite the thousands of people who have flocked to NIA centres around the nation.
Sam George claims that the current backlog would not have existed if the Minister had asked the NIA to propose a firm solution so that the Authority wouldn't have to bear an undue burden from the requirement for a Ghana Card for the sim re-registration.
"The Chamber is making this point, the same one the opposition, the minority, and civil society have been making, yet we're still dealing with this issue. This shows you that we have a minister who doesn't pay attention to detail and a minister who doesn't listen to sensible advice when it arrives.
"Neither the NIA nor the Minister requested that the Ghana card be used. She picked it. The issue arises when you then go back and play this sort of game. Since October of last year, the Parliamentary Committee has been attempting to speak with the Minister about this matter, but she just won't listen, he added.
He said that majority of these problems might have been avoided if the Minister had completely trusted the National Communication Authority to handle the sim re-registration procedure.
"Therefore, you must understand where to draw the boundary between the creation of policies and their execution. On the advice of technocrats, politicians are responsible for formulating policy; technocrats are in charge of carrying it out. The procedure would have been considerably cleaner if the NCA and its engineers had been in charge of it and had partnered with the Chamber, he claimed.
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