Stealing of Telephone cable high in Obuasi - PM

Obuasi (Ash), April 7, GNA - Nana Asirifi Asare II, Presiding Member of the Obuasi Municipal Assembly, has appealed to assembly members to help check rampant stealing of cables belonging to the Ghana Telecom (GT).

His appeal followed a revelation that Obuasi was the most hostile community to the operations of GT in terms of the rate at which the company's cables were being stolen by unsuspecting criminals. Nana Asare said it was important for the Obuasi community to help reverse the situation since effective telecommunication system was a tool for development.

At an open forum organised by GT at Obuasi to solicit suggestions and complaints from the public about their services, the Ashanti Regional Director of GT, Mr Jonathan Kessey-Antwi expressed concern about the rate at which the company was losing huge revenue as a result of cable thefts.

He pointed out that the cables were expensive and that the rate at which people were stealing them at Obuasi was alarming. Mr Kessey-Antwi added his voice to the call for the Obuasi community to assist GT to address the problem which was having negative impact on their service delivery. Mr Selorm Fianu, Obuasi Area Manager of GT, who spoke on the "Status of Obuasi Network", regretted that recently, cables that would have served more than 200 customers at Bossman, Brahabebome and Akapoliso had been stolen.

He said GT was doing everything possible to offer efficient services to customers in the municipality and that it was installing a modern switch in the area that could serve 5,000 customers. Mr Fianu emphasised the need for the Obuasi community to help the company safeguard its lines and announced a reward of GH¢1,000 for those who would arrest cable thieves and GH¢500 for those who would volunteer information leading to their arrest.