Deactivation of SIM cards put on hold: Punaha

THE deactivation of sim cards has been put on hold pending the matter currently before court, according to National Information and Communication Technology Authority (Nicta).
Chief executive officer Charles Punaha said registration of sim cards by telecommunication companies is still on-going.
The deactivation process was put on hold following an application made against Nicta by the Ombudsman Commission.
“We respect the application by the Ombudsman Commission through the Supreme Court on the constitutional reference that the Ombudsman Commission has filed on the sim card regulations,” Punaha said.
“Our position is that although there were no specific orders given by the court when they received the application, at the moment, we have just endorsed for the operators to continue to register, especially for new subscribers.
“The only delay now in view of that Ombudsman Commission reference is that Nicta has not proceeded with the actual deactivation process.
“We respect the application that was made by the Ombudsman Commission through the court and we’ll wait for the court to make the decision before we actually start deactivation process.
Punaha commented that telecommunication companies were cooperating with Nicta with regards to the matter.