Communication Reporters meet CEO of Vodafone

Leading members of the Network of Communications Reporters (NCR), paid a visit to the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Vodafone Ghana, Madam Patricia Obo-Nai to discuss issues affecting the telecom industry.

The network is a group of journalists who have specialized in writing on telecoms and ICT in the country.

Madam Obo-Nai was appointed early this year as the first Ghanaian female to become the CEO of Vodafone Ghana, after being part of the senior management team of Vodafone for a while.

Addressing the team, the CEO of Vodafone expressed her gratitude to the media especially telecom reporters for projecting the industry and also putting the operators on their toes.

She said her outfit is very careful in terms of strategizing their operations, noting that as the number two mobile operator in the country, they have plans to serve their customers well.

Touching on quality of services, Obo-Nai mentioned that after assuming the office her management acquired modern technology infrastructure to improve the services of the network.

‘We are still putting in measures to cover the areas where we have not gotten to,’ she added.

However, she pointed out that operating telecom industry in Ghana is very expensive and as a result of that their investments into the sector are carefully planned.

She also stated that security of mobile money is very important to them and it is their duty to make sure that mobile money frauds that are connected to Vodafone network are minimized in order to make the network attractive and stable to Ghanaians

In order to minimize the fraud pertaining to her network, Obo-Nai disclosed that they have sacked a lot of their agents as a result of going contrary to their rules.

‘We have been doing this to bring sanity on our network. We have now seen some discipline on the part of our agents,’ Madam Obo-Nai indicated.

One of the problems facing the telcos in the country is the cost of damage to their Fibre Optic cables. The mobile telecom operators have the view that Fibre Cables should be seen as National Asset and for that matter it should be protected. Most of these damages are being caused by Ghana Water Company Limited (GWCL) and the Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG).

Madam Obo-Nai observed that it’s time for the government to take a critical look at the damages these state companies are causing the operators.

The Dean of the NCR, Mr. Charles Benoni Okine, said little is bean done by the mobile operators when it comes to MoMo fraud being experienced by customers or individuals. He called on the telcos to respond quickly to customers whenever customers complain of being defrauded.

He said it is unfortunate that the telcos have not helped the media in terms of shaping the media to position themselves to championing the cause of the operators.

The NCR Executive also called on the telcos to do routine checks  on their Fibre Cables. ‘There are some of the Fibre Optic Cables easily seen around. Sometimes the blame has to be on the head of the telcos for not helping themselves at all,’ NCR pointed out.

The Network of Communications Reporters (NCR) is a network of journalists who have specialized in writing on telecoms and ICT, with the ultimate aim of influencing industry policies, and keeping industry players on their toes on behalf of consumers.

Source: Fred Yaw Sarpong
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