By Nana Appiah Acquaye, Accra, Ghana
Vodafone Ghana is enlisting the help of the general public to help curb the incidence of cable theft across the country, with an offer of rewards for information that could lead to the arrest of those stealing underground cable belonging to the company or any other telcos in the country.
The company is prepared to offer GH.C 400.00 to any member of the public who provide credible intelligence leading to the arrest of anyone engaged in cable theft activities. An additional GH.C 600.00 will also be made available to the whistleblower when the culprit is prosecuted and jailed.
Last year alone cable theft caused losses of over GH.C 1.5 million for Vodafone Ghana. According to the Corporate Communications Manager of Vodafone, Mr. Ebenezer Amankwa, this unfortunate development does not only affect Vodafone as a corporate entity but also affects customers, key stakeholders and the nation at large.
“We receive many distressed calls from clients who manage sensitive facilities due to disruption of services, as a result of cable theft. It affects all of us, hospitals, schools and security installations,” he noted.
The Head of Corporate Security at Vodafone Ghana Eric Kwame Tetteh told Biztechafrica that Vodafone Ghana has now intensified its efforts to control the incidence of cable theft by teaming up with the country’s security agencies and judicial system to ensure a speedy arrest and prosecution of offenders.
He revealed that Vodafone was assisting the judiciary to set up specialized court for the prosecution of cable theft all the ten region of Ghana.
Currently there are two of such courts in the country one in the Greater Accra Region and the other in the Ashanti Region.
Mr Tetteh believed that having these specialised courts across the country will help expedite action on cases related to cable theft and will help serve as a deterrent to others.
Ghana’s Trade and Industry Ministry is also assisting Vodafone Ghana in its quest to solve the menace of cable theft by authorizing the interception of scrap export to allow full inspection by Vodafone officials before giving approval.
