GHANA TELECOM WATCHDOG C'TTEE NABS CABLE THIEF (PAGE 29)

A watchdog group made up of the staff of the Ghana Telecommunications Company (GT) in Sekondi-Takoradi has arrested a man who was cutting telecommunication cables belonging to the company. The man, Gerald Duakin, believed to be a Togolese national was caught at about 1a.m. cutting the cables.
The suspect was said to have climbed the telephone pole and removed about 700 meters of the cable, folded it and concealed it in a sack.
Duakin, who did not know that members of the watchdog group were watching him was about to carry the cables away when they pounced on him and sent him to the police.
According to the Western Regional Manager of Ghana Telecom, Mr Emmanuel Edusei-Essel, anytime the company laid new cables they vanished the following day.
“Therefore, some members of staff, who realised the effect of the cable thefts on the finances of the company and services to customers decided to form a watchdog group, ” he said.
He said when the group first went on their operations a torrential rain thwarted their efforts, compelling them to suspend their operations.
The cable thieves however went on their operations thus depriving more than 20 customers, including corporate and other businesses of the needed service.
Mr Emmanuel Edusei-Essel said the material cost and the problems the thefts brought upon the company’s customers were enormous because the company invested huge sums of money to ensure that its customers were provided with reliable services.
“One of the important things to today’s corporate world is telecommunications and it is frustrating when a customer who wants to save time, cost and eliminate risk by just making a phone call or sending a fax cannot do so because of unscrupulous members of society whose aim is to serve their selfish interests,” he said.
He said cable thefts resulted in losses and that the restoration of the services was dependent on the availability of materials. “If it takes an hour, a day or a week to restore the service it is a huge time lost to the corporate world and a dent on GT’s quest to satisfy the needs of the customer.
According to the Western Regional Police Public Relations Officer, Ms Olivia Adiku, Duaki will be arraigned before court immediately investigations were completed.