Let’s help in the fight against SIM box fraud

SIM box fraud has been with us for many years, although attempts in the past to apprehend the perpetrators had not yielded much.

The arrest of six alleged SIM box fraudsters by the Joint Anti-Telecom Fraud Task Force last Monday is, therefore, welcome news to the state, the telecommunications companies and telephone subscribers.

It is a good attempt to clamp down on people perpetuating this fraud and the CID, the National Communications Authority (NCA), telecom service operators and Subah Info Solutions deserve commendation for an effective collaboration.

Ghanaian mobile phone users are always confused when they receive foreign calls with local numbers and are not able to call back. We only pray that the exercise will continue to rid the country of those fraudsters.

According to the Director General of the CID, Commissioner of Police (COP) Mr Prosper Kwame Agblor, the arrest is one of the biggest and most successful operations embarked upon by the task force as far as SIM box fraud is concerned.

Crimes such as the SIM box fraud are the result of the greed that has become part of our society.

The greedy nature of some Ghanaians has become the bane of our growing economy. We have always talked about corruption in the public service, but it is even worse in the private sector.

A major portion of state revenue is siphoned into private pockets. The Registrar General’s Department, the Passport Office, university and senior high school admissions and hospitals have all been in the news for one form of corruption or another.

Over the years, we have always blamed politicians, but we are losing the fight. One finger points at them, while four point at us.

It is a collective war that we ought to wage against any form of corruption, just as the task force did.

Unfortunately for us in this country, we have always ascribed political colouring to people who are caught in wrongdoing, forgetting that crime has no colour. We should deal with criminals according to our laws, no matter their status in society.

The tagging of people arrested by the security agencies for their involvement in crimes as belonging to party A or party B only thwarts efforts to fight crime and save the state from losing revenue due it.

The GH¢107,495,000 lost to the state due to the activities of the six arrested SIM box fraudsters could have been used to construct schools, roads and hospitals or undertake other much needed development projects for the citizens.

Last Monday, 250 households in four island communities in the Ada East District in the Greater Accra Region — Azizakpey, Alorkpem, Aflive and Kpetsupanya — received the maiden payment of their grants, which ranged from GH¢144 to GH¢270, from the Livelihood Empowerment Against Poverty (LEAP) programme.

The huge amount lost to the state in just five months could have improved the livelihoods of many of such beneficiaries. 

We all need to join in the fight against corruption and acts of fraud against the state by first abstaining from such acts ourselves. 

Greed must not get the better of us and we must be content with what we work for.

We also need to report persons involved in suspicious deals or activities that may result in the state losing revenue to the appropriate authorities.