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Tackling Fraud in the Telecom Industry with Technology

Published

7 years ago

January 29, 2019

Eric

In Tanzania, with an estimated 42 million people using cell phones and hand phones – 23 million of which are smartphone users – the telecom sector should realistically form the backbone of a dynamic and inclusive digital economy. However, an alarmingly high prevalence of fraud has resulted in the Tanzanian telecom sector haemorrthaging billions of dollars in the past.

This lost revenue has proved detrimental in a time when institutions like the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank have been progressively reducing the level of funding offered to African governments. As such, finding ways to clamp down on the mismanagement of funds in order to reach financial independence from these global regulatory bodies has been prioritised in recent years.

A national success story in this regard has been that of the Telecom Traffic Monitoring System (TTMS) project implemented by Global Voice Group (GVG), which has allowed the Tanzania Communications Regulatory Authority (TCRA) to collect over Sh93 billion in revenue over the past five years.

Speaking at an event in Dar es Salaam last week which acknowledged the impact of the TTMS project, the President of the United Republic of Tanzania, John Magufuli, admitted that the mismanagement of funds in the telecom industry had gotten out of control. “It is no secret that we have lost a lot of money as a result of fraud and embezzlement in this sector.

“I would like to inform everybody, however, that since this TTMS system was installed, we now know the exact number of telecom users, debtors, telecom fraudsters, and all the information that we didn’t know before. In fact, the TTMS has managed to eradicate almost all instances of fraud in external telecoms, bringing the figure down from over 65% to just 10%.

“Without this system, a large portion of this revenue would have gone into private pockets, instead of being used by Government for the greater good of the country,” the President explained.

The system has also helped Government to understand and control a lot of electronic financial transactions like Mpesa and related transactions. This has allowed authorities to oversee these fast-growing services and to monitor their regulatory compliance as well as their security, reliability and quality for Tanzanians, especially the unbanked ones for whom mobile money represent essential services for their financial inclusion.

According to the director general of the Tanzania Communications Regulatory Authority (TCRA), Mr James Kilaba, this has already made a significant impact on tracking mobile money transactions. “We have seen an increase in mobile money transactions from Sh8.5 trillion per month recorded in 2007 to Sh11.6 trillion in 2017.”

Based on the impressive level of satisfaction that is being expressed by one of Africa’s larger countries, there is a question of whether this success could be duplicated in other countries to unlock economic prosperity for all.

The president believes that it could, and has urged all neighbouring ministries to take action. “I’d like to advise all other Government ministries and departments to emulate the TTMS and utilize E-Systems to ensure the effective collection of Government revenues.

“Today, the communications sector is such a vital sector of the economy, especially with all the development facilities. It is for this reason that we call it the new oil field, because it generates billions and billions of dollars in the modern economy,” commented the President.

Featured

Akume Leads Nigeria’s Delegation to Jesse Jackson’s Funeral in US

Published

4 hours ago

March 5, 2026

Eric

President Bola Tinubu has approved a five-person delegation to represent Nigeria at the final burial rites of Rev. Jesse Jackson, the American civil rights leader, activist and former presidential candidate who died at age 84 on February 17, 2026, in Chicago.

Senator George Akume, Secretary to the Government of the Federation, is the leader of the delegation, according to a press statement from the Presidency on Wednesday.

Other members are the Minister of State for Foreign Affairs, Bianca Odumegwu-Ojukwu; Minister of Arts, Culture and Creative Economy, Hannatu Musawa; the Special Presidential Envoy for Global and Pan-African Affairs, Brian Browne; and the Senior Special Assistant, Foreign Affairs and International Relations, Ambassador Sola Enikanolaye.

The delegation will deliver President Tinubu’s message of condolences to the Jackson family.

In an earlier tribute, President Tinubu described Reverend Jackson as a great friend of Nigeria and Africa.

“He was a moral voice and a formidable resistance to apartheid in South Africa. He played a leading role in the campaign for the release from prison of Nelson Mandela and other African National Congress leaders. He won critical support for sanctions against the then apartheid government,” President Tinubu wrote.

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Tinubu Nominates Oyedele As Minister of State for Finance, Moves Anite-Uzoka to Budget Ministry

Published

2 days ago

March 3, 2026

Eric

A statement signed by the Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy Bayo Onanuga, has announced that “President Bola Tinubu has nominated Taiwo Oyedele as the minister of state for finance, replacing Doris Anite-Uzoka.

“Mrs Anite-Uzoka will now move to the Ministry of Budget and National Planning, as the Minister of State, her third portfolio in the administration.

“President Tinubu has today conveyed the nomination of Mr Oyedele to the Senate for confirmation in a letter to the Senate President, Godswill Akpabio.

“Until President Tinubu nominated him as a minister, Mr Oyedele from Ikaram, Akoko, Ondo State, was the chairman of the Presidential Committee on Fiscal Policy and Tax Reforms, which overhauled Nigeria’s tax system.

“Mr Oyedele, 50, is an economist, accountant and public policy expert.

“He attended Yaba College of Technology, where he obtained a Higher National Diploma (HND) in accountancy and finance. He attended Oxford Brookes University and earned a BSc in applied accounting.

“He also completed executive education programmes at the London School of Economics, Yale University, the Gordon Institute of Business Science, and the Harvard Kennedy School.

“Mr Oyedele spent 22 years of his working career at PwC, joining in 2001 and rising to become the Fiscal Policy Partner and Africa Tax Leader.

“Mr Oyedele is also a professor at Babcock University in Ogun State and a visiting scholar at the Lagos Business School.”

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Defection: Atiku’s Son, Adamu, Resigns As Adamawa Commissioner

Published

2 days ago

March 3, 2026

Eric

Adamu Abubakar, the first son of former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar, has resigned as Adamawa State’s commissioner for works and energy development, days after Governor Ahmadu Fintiri defected from the Peoples Democratic Party to the All Progressives Congress.

Abubakar’s resignation letter, dated 2 March 2026, was addressed to the governor through the Secretary to the State Government. He gave no reason for his departure.

The timing is pointed. Fintiri announced his defection to the APC in a statewide broadcast last Friday, saying his cabinet and the PDP’s state structure had moved with him. Within 24 hours, 22 commissioners and special advisers publicly announced they were following suit. Abubakar, whose father remains one of the PDP’s most prominent national figures, was not among them.

In a statement issued Monday night, Abubakar’s media aide Abdulaziz Jauro said the former commissioner thanked the governor for the opportunity to serve and pledged continued loyalty to the administration’s developmental agenda. He also expressed gratitude to his father “for granting him the moral support and blessing to serve the people of Adamawa State” — a line that, read in context, suggests Atiku was consulted on the decision.

Abubakar said his resignation was not a withdrawal from public life. “This does not mark the end of his commitment to public service,” the statement read, “but rather the beginning of new avenues for developmental collaboration.”

The resignation leaves unresolved the question of whether it reflects a political break with the governor over his defection or a personal decision unconnected to the broader party realignment now reshaping Adamawa’s political landscape.