Multi-Links loses N19m in diesel scam

Multi-Links Telkom has lost a total of N19 million to diesel and generator thefts in the country in recent times, according to its Managing Director, Mr. Thami Msimango, while it spent about N22.7 million on Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) in the past 10 months.

Speaking at the West African Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) Congress with the theme: ‘Harnessing New Technologies for Telecom/ICT Growth in West Africa,’ which ended at the weekend in Lagos, Mr. Msimango who dwelt on “The Evolution of the Multi-Links Telkom brand as a platform for innovative offerings in Africa’s emerging market,” noted that as part of the ongoing challenges before the telco in deployment of services, that his company has lost estimated N19m to diesel and generator thefts.

According to him, vandalisation and sabotage of transmission infrastructure, led by fibre cuts increases downtime significantly and his company recorded approximated 13 of such cuts just in April 2009, while recording 2 vandalisation of cut fibre cables.

“Repeated and multiple cuts to fibre network disrupts services defeat redundancy and self healing architecture of fibre ring,” he declared.

In addition, he listed inadequate and epileptic power as impacting negatively on Multi-Link’s network, thus resulting in outages.

Equally, he cited an instance with multiple taxation and inconsistency as well as unstructured demands by some government agencies at various tiers in a number of cases resulting to regular blockage of access to sites by local governments seeking to enforce illegal taxes and levies.

He pointed out that increasing community agitation and militancy in the six geopolitical zones particularly in Lagos and Niger Delta, have not been helpful, stressing that community issues impact on rollout, maintenance and refueling of sites as vehicles carrying generators, diesel or other equipment are often detained by miscreants and certain communities, which eventually result in the closure of some of Multi-Links sites.

“Several sites are inaccessible daily on account of community issues,” he observed, decrying the incessant inability and difficulties in securing planning and building approval for sites,” he said, just as poor road network makes access to several planned communities impossible for heavy duty equipment.

“Road construction has resulted in relaying 100s of kilometers of fibre optic transmission infrastructure, in addition to dearth of precise statistics and economic data make network planning very difficult,” he asserted, pointing out that the outages in the SAT-3 impact on network quality.

Outlining some of the CSR support from by the telco since August last year, Msimango said these include Police Games, Ife Day, Coronation, Senate Committee on Women, Skills Acquisition Centre, Benin, school back packs, scholarship for Miss Telecom and 10 bursary and laptops for some university students among others.

“Multi-Links Telkom as a way of life is committed to give back to the communities where it operates,” he said.

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