Government asked to create employment to curb Internet crime

Accra, July 10, GNA - The Global Youth Action Network (GYAN)-Ghana, youth-focused non-governmental organisation (NGO), has appealed to Government to create more employment to curb cyber fraud, popularly called "Sakawa", among young people.

The NGO said that a project it carried out with GYAN, its mother organisation, with support from Motherboard T.V, US-based media outlet, indicated that some youth engage in Internet crime partly because they are unemployed or lack opportunities to develop their potentials.

A statement signed by Mr Alexander Botwe, national coordinator of GYAN-Ghana, copied GNA, appealed to government to formulate a policy for the rehabilitation and reintegration of young people involved in the menace since some of them are ready to stop the practice and restart life.

It said "Most of these youth, who engage in Internet fraud, are willing to return to their families and the society but due to the "Sakawa" stigma, they are finding it difficult to return home."

The statement cited Nima, Mamobi, North Kaneshie, Dansoman, Adenta and Madina, all suburbs of Accra, as high cyber fraud zones.

It said "government and the civil society should not only focus on the enactment of a cyber law but serious measures must be taken to reintegrate and rehabilitate into society young people involved in cyber crime."

The statement appealed to the media, civil society, religious bodies, parents, and opinion leaders to support efforts to end the stigmatization of perpetrators of Internet fraud.