Mr Selorm Adadevoh, the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of MTN Ghana, has called for a multi-sectorial collaboration to minimise mobile money and internet fraud in the country.

According to the CEO, considering the fact that Ghana is fast transitioning into a digital economy, internet and MoMo fraud pose a larger national threat. For that reason, he said stakeholders must work in unison to nip the menace in the bud.

Until December last year, the CEO said, the incidence of MoMofraud had subsided significantly. However, he noted that fraudsters have engineered more sophisticated strategies to bypass established security systems in a new wave.

“This comes with some responsibilities for everyone. As operators, we have responsibilities, government has a responsibility, and the media has a responsibility. What is important is that we all come together with a single plan we can execute to prevent the emergence of fraud.”
Mr Selorm Adadevoh

The CEO averred that individual institutions have put defense mechanisms in place but stressed that more collaborations needed to happen among telecommunication companies, banks, security agencies among others.

“The way to fight fraud is not for MTN to sit in its corner doing its own thing. We all have to come together and take fraud as a national issue and fight together because the vulnerabilities are not only on MTN’s side. The vulnerabilities are in other places too.”
Mr Selorm Adadevoh

Beyond the collaboration, Mr Adadevoh said it is also necessary to intensify public education for people to become more empowered to mitigate fraud.

MTN’s Commitment to Build the Largest and Most Valuable Platforms

Mr Adadevoh noted that MTN is committed to building the largest and most valuable platforms and solutions for Africa’s progress.

To achieve that, the CEO said MTN is working to deliver a bold new digital world, which would leave no one behind, irrespective of their location and status. He added that the company is transforming the network to become a digital operator, while it is partnering government on its digital transformation agenda.

Mr Adadevoh stated that the telecommunication network is on course with its pledge to invest one billion dollars in network expansion by end of 2025. Meanwhile, he disclosed that the company has since 2021, invested about 650 million dollars and is hoping to exceed the one-billion-dollar target by 2025.

Mr Adadevoh further disclosed that the company is creating 350 new sites to improve service delivery out of which 50 are in the Western and Central regions alone.

Touting its contributions to national development, he noted that among other gestures, MTN in 2022 contributed more than four billion dollars to government revenue.

Mr Adadevoh, meanwhile, bemoaned the incidence of fibre cuts, which he attributed largely to the unbridled galamsey activities, particularly, in the Western Region and also road constructions.

The situation, he said, has resulted in disruptions in the network and also increased its operational cost because millions were spent to replace the fibre optic cables.

To address the challenge, the CEO noted that MTN has engaged various stakeholders, including road agencies and the police in the Western and Central regions.

“We are doing our best to stop the fibre cuts and we have provide maps of where our fibres are buried. Road expansions are development projects and fibre is also a development project, so we need to collaborate. Road agencies need to contact us when there is the need for construction so that we take action to protect our cables.”
Mr Selorm Adadevoh