Vodacom Group CEO Shameel Joosub has called for a “more sophisticated” Sim card registration system for South Africa, saying criminals have learnt to “game” Rica and that the country should move towards biometric identification as a solution.
Speaking to TechCentral on Monday, Joosub said the system that once positioned South Africa as a pioneer in mobile registration has now fallen behind international standards.
“We were one of the first countries out of the blocks to implement Rica, but we’ve fallen behind. People have learnt to gamify the system,” he said.
Joosub’s comments echo concerns raised earlier on Monday by former MTN Zambia CEO Farhad Khan and now a telecommunications industry consultant, who warned that the Rica regime has become a “gaping hole” in South Africa’s crime-fighting capacity. He was writing in his personal capacity.
Khan said millions of anonymous or fraudulently registered Sim cards have enabled a “shadow communications network” used for contract killings, kidnappings and extortion – crimes that thrive because the users of these so-called “burner phones” cannot be traced.
Joosub acknowledged the scale of the problem, saying telecoms carriers collectively sell more than 10 million Sim cards each month, a figure far exceeding South Africa’s population when annualised. “Putting in a proper customer registration process becomes critical,” he said. “As we go into digital IDs, this can play a big role – it can also eliminate fraud to a large degree because you’ll have customers properly registered.”
Stronger framework
He confirmed that biometric-linked registration is already being explored. “In many countries, we already have biometric registration. There’s a lot of work being done with the authorities in defining what that looks like. We’re now getting to the phase where we actually push forward and implement.”
Khan, in his column, argued that linking Sims to verified IDs or biometrics, as implemented in India and Nigeria, can drastically reduce anonymity in crime networks.
Read: How South Africa’s broken Rica system fuels murder and mayhem
Joosub said collaboration with South Africa’s department of justice and other authorities is under way. A stronger Rica framework, backed by biometrics and digital ID integration, could improve law enforcement’s access to accurate subscriber data, help curb fraud and restore public trust in telecoms regulation. – © 2025 NewsCentral Media
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