President John Dramani Mahama has assured that there will be stronger action against cybercrime and related offences suc as romance scams.
The president pledged that his administration will continue to work with international partners to ensure offenders face justice.
He made the comments at the launch of the Cyber Security Awareness Month on October 1, held under the theme “Building a Safe, Informed and Accountable Digital Space.”
Delivering his speech, President Mahama noted that cyber threats have become more complex as digital technologies expand.
“Cyber bullying, cybercrime has been with us for years. With the explosion in the digital space and different kinds of instruments in that space, it’s become more sophisticated,” he said.
He explained that with the expansion of digital public services and mobile money usage, there is the need to reinforce the systems that safeguard them.
“This is why under the reset Ghana agenda, my administration has prioritized digital transformation as a key part of our national development policy and cyber security is a the core of that transformation.”
He added that Ghana has been collaborating with international partners to combat romance scams and similar frauds.
“Recently we’ve been collaborating with our international partners. When evidence is gathered and it’s proven that people are involved in romance scams, using our extradition treaties, we ship the culprits back.”
President Mahama vowed that all persons found engaging in such activities would not escape punishment.
“We’ll continue to collaborate with all our global partners. Anybody involved in romance scams, whether you’re a foreigner or you’re a Ghanaian citizen, we’ll hand you over to be tried and punished accordingly,” he assured.
President Mahama also touched on people with links to financial institutions engaging in financial scams.
“There are also inside jobs. Some people are employed within financial institutions and they take advantage of the system. So, the Bank of Ghana and the cyber security agencies have arrested a few such,” revealed the president.
He also spoke about the rise of online hate speech aimed at creating divisions among Ghanaians.
“There are also other forms like hate speech to create division amongst people. People will intentionally post messages to pit one ethnic group against the other. That is also becoming very common,” he lamented.
Mahama added that these growing challenges must be tackled decisively by the Cyber Security Authority and allied agencies, adding that public awareness and vigilance remain key to safeguarding Ghana’s digital space.lk
