Ursula Owusu’s decision to stop ‘phone unblocking’ will affect our source of income - Traders lament

Traders at the “Tip-toe” lane at Kwame Nkrumah Circle have expressed their grievances over the impeding clampdown of persons/businesses that are into the unlocking of imported mobile phones in Ghana.

The decision to stop the practice where imported phones are unblocked’ for usage in Ghana was revealed by the Communications Minister-designate Ursula Owusu.

The Minister-designate during her vetting in Parliament yesterday, Monday, February 15 hinted that when she is given the nod again she will ensure that legislation is passed to stop, unblocking, decoding, and flashing of imported mobile phones in the country.

She indicated that there will be a central mobile phones identity register “and so if your phone is stolen from outside and sold here, it cannot be used here. If it’s blocked there, it is blocked here.”

Reacting to this, traders at the Kwame Nkrumah Circle have said that, the decision will be a wrong move since the unblocking and decoding is what they do to earn a living.

“This is what we do to earn a living and if it is closed down what do we do? Our families depend on us and this is what brings us money. We are not doing anything wrong with this business, some people genuinely unintentionally lock their phones and when they bring it, we unblock it for them then out of that, we also get something small. This job has created more employment for the youth and we don’t agree with the minister closing it down, we beg her to reconsider the decision or else we will be jobless” some of them said to GhanaWeb.

Meanwhile, the government will soon undertake a SIM registration exercise across the country to have all SIM cards registered.

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