Communications Minister, Sam George has disclosed that illegal mining, popularly known as galamsey, accounts for about 25 per cent of fibre cuts in Ghana, worsening service disruptions across the telecommunications sector.
Speaking at the Government Accountability Series on Monday, September 7, he said telecommunications infrastructure was particularly vulnerable to illegal mining activities because operators often excavate areas without regard for underground fibre cables.
“25 per cent of that is galamsey. The telecom industry is one of the worst hit by the activities of galamsey operations because they just go in, dig and they cut the fibre,” Mr George said.
“So, it is a real challenge that the sector is facing, he stated.
“25% of that is galamsey. The Telecom industry is one of the worst hit by the activities of galamsey operations because they just go in, dig and they cut. even with the road contractors, you are lucky they may report it to you, Galamsey operators won’t report anything to you.
The Minister also noted that road construction projects account for 49 per cent of fibre cuts in Ghana.
Sam George explained that unlike road contractors, who may sometimes notify telecommunications companies after accidentally damaging fibre infrastructure, illegal miners often provide no such notification.
“Even with the road contractors, you are lucky they may report it to you. Galamsey operators won’t report anything to you,” he said.
He said the frequent cuts were affecting network services in areas where adequate telecommunications infrastructure and capacity already existed, often creating the impression that mobile networks were poor when the actual problem was fibre cuts.
“For the fibre cuts, despite all the work we are doing, it will continue to be a big challenge for us in this sector because even when there is capacity and there is access and infrastructure in the area, when the fibre cuts, what happens is in that whole area, people try to make calls and then deprivation of service in that area,” Sam George said.
“So people complain the network is bad here. It is not because the network is poor but because the fibre has been cut,” he added.
The Minister said the number of fibre cuts had risen significantly over the past five years, with the country recording about 3,900 incidents in 2021 and more than 6,000 in 2023.
“In 2021, we had 3,900 fibre cuts; in 2022, we had 10,034 fibre cuts, over 6,000 in 2023, over 5,000 in 2024,” he said.
According to Mr George, the situation worsened in 2025, when about 8,000 fibre cuts were recorded, with the country potentially heading towards 9,000 fibre cuts in 2026 if the current trend continues.
“Already, as at the end of June this year, we had recorded almost 4,300 fibre cuts,” he said.
He identified the government’s Big Push road construction programme as the biggest source of fibre damage, explaining that the rapid expansion of road projects across the country had increased the risk of contractors inadvertently damaging underground telecommunications infrastructure.
“Why have I said this is a major challenge? The biggest source of fibre cuts is from the Big Push project. Because the Ministry of Roads is carrying out an aggressive project to construct roads across the country, you see that a lot more of our fibre [is] being cut,” Mr George said.
He explained that road contractors often damage fibre cables during excavation and other construction activities.
“What happens is the road contractor is expanding the road, he excavates, the machines touch the fibre and cut them,” he said.
Mr George cited the Winneba-Mankessim road as an example, where a single fibre cut resulted in a 17-hour service outage.
“For example, on the Winneba-Mankessim road, in one day when there was a fibre cut, there was a 17-hour outage,” he said.
He said the incident significantly disrupted data services across a wide area.
“So, for 17 hours, the entire data experience around Winneba-Mankessim all the way to Cape Coast environment was deeply degraded,” the Minister said.
Source:Fiilafmonline/3News
