Communications Minister Samuel Nartey George has called on traditional authorities and residents in rural communities to help protect telecommunications infrastructure, warning that battery theft and electricity supply problems are disrupting network services.
The minister said investigations into complaints about non-functioning network sites had uncovered cases of stolen or tampered-with batteries, prepaid electricity challenges and faulty meter connections.
According to him, the loss or tampering of backup batteries can force network sites to shut down, leaving residents without reliable connectivity.
“One of the key challenges we’ve noticed in some of the reports we’ve gotten have been the issue of theft of our batteries,” Mr George told journalists.
He urged traditional authorities and the youth in affected communities to take responsibility for safeguarding the facilities, stressing that the continued operation of the sites depends partly on protecting the equipment installed there.
The minister said the Ministry of Communications and Digitalisation responds to complaints from Members of Parliament about network failures by dispatching technical teams to establish the causes.
“Sometimes you get reports that MPs come to me and say that the site is not working. We dispatch a team to go and investigate,” he said.
He explained that the investigations sometimes reveal electricity-related problems or deliberate interference with the batteries, rather than faults with the network equipment itself.
Mr George also called on district-level authorities to pay closer attention to challenges affecting the facilities and support efforts to ensure their continued operation.
He made the remarks during an inspection of telecommunications network facilities in the Central Afram Plains, where the government is assessing the condition and performance of sites inherited from previous administrations.
The inspection forms part of efforts to identify operational challenges affecting rural connectivity and determine the interventions needed to improve network services in underserved communities.
The minister’s appeal highlights the role of community cooperation in protecting telecommunications infrastructure and ensuring that investments in rural connectivity deliver sustained benefits to residents.
