Knowledge, attitude and practice on Sim-Card registration among the people in Uganda

Abstract

Mandatory registration for sim-card users emerged after the introduction of registration requirements in Brazil, Germany, and Switzerland in 2003. Since then, an increasing number of governments have introduced mandatory registration requirements prohibiting mobile operators from selling or activating sim-cards unless the purchaser presents a proof of identity and registers the SIM in their real name. As of July 2013, at least 80 countries globally (including 37 on the African continent) had made it possible for their citizens to register.

The intended purpose of this policy is providing a measure of protection against negative incidents such; as loss of phone through theft, nuisance/ hate text message, fraud, and threat and inciting violence. As the bedrock of law enforcement and identification, sim-card registration is a crucial element of any communication process. This study assessed the knowledge, attitude, and practice of sim-card registration among people taking a case study of Kampala district.

Specifically, the study sought to ascertain the extent to which people are knowledgeable about the challenges of the policy, their attitude towards the policy and their level of practice.

The study used a respondent sample of 100 people who have registered their sim-cards and are living in Kampala who were used as units of enquiry.

The analysis was done using STATA where univariate and bivariate analysis was done. The findings revealed that most people in Uganda are knowledgeable of sim-card challenges. However, they show a positive attitude towards sim-card registration, therefore, a lot has to be done about the increasing burdens or challenges affecting the policy among which include bureaucracy and increase in the number sim-card related crimes to sufficiently achieve the objectives of this policy.

Corresponding, I recommend that UCC and MNO should embark on establishing the use of self-service systems this would be a remedy for decongesting service centers and making it easy for people to practice sim-card registration in Uganda. These guidelines should in principle enhance the flexibility and ease to register sim-cards suitably.