Tanzania: Vodacom Extends Work Hours in Biometric Registration Race

VODACOM Tanzania has extended working hours throughout its shops and service desks across the

country to meet the demands of customers rushing to meet December deadline for biometric registration of all SIM cards.

The company's Managing Director Hisham Hendi said in Dar es Salaam over the weekend that the move is aimed at ensuring more Vodacom customers comply with biometric registration of Sim cards and ensure they stay connected.

"We understand how busy the holiday season can get and with the December 31st deadline looming, we have decided to extend our working hours from 5 pm to 8 pm," he said.

He added; "We thereby call on our customers who have national identification cards and NIDA numbers to visit our shops across the country and register their SIM cards to comply with the government's directive in order to avoid any inconveniences of interruption of communication services especially during the festive season."

Customers who have not yet applied for national identification cards should do so, in order to complete their Sim card registration process. SIM cards biometric registration is meant to curb misuse of mobile phones and enhance security.

Tanzanians have been urged to get NIDA cards and numbers in order to comply with this directive. According to a government directive, telecommunication SIM cards that have not been registered biometrically will be disconnected after the 31st December deadline.

"In addition we have tasked our Vodacom agents who have special IDs and uniforms to visit businesses and residential neighbourhoods to mobilize and facilitate customers to register their SIM cards at ease," he added.

He said that a client needs to have either a National Identification Card or just the ID number, "if a person can remember his/ her National Identification Number (NIN) then we registers him, it's not a must for someone to produce physical National ID," said Hisham.

Early this year, the government through TCRA directed all SIM card holders to be registered biometrically, Biometrics are becoming increasingly used as a "know your customer (KYC)" tool for keeping fraudsters out of the customer base, particularly for telecom.