Lasimra Gives Telecom operators Deadline on Facilities

Lagos State Infrastructure Maintenance and Regulatory Agency (Lasimra), has given all service companies operating in the state up till December 22, 2009 to submit statistics and maps on their existing underground facilities.
The agency said it will sanction operators who fail to comply with the December deadline. 
The service operating companies include all telecommunications, electricity, water and gas companies that have existing underground facilities in the state.
Joe Ibgokwe, general manager, Lasimra, said the order became necessary to enable the agency properly coordinate and harmonise such facilities, aimed at using the statistics to confront the problem of damage to underground facilities that may be caused by contractors handling various projects in the state, including road projects for government and corporate bodies.
Allaying fears that information from the statistics might be used to calculate company’s income tax, Igbokwe said “for the umpteenth time and for the avoidance of doubt, we wish to reiterate that has no pecuniary or tax undertone. It has nothing to do with tax or levy as the state’s monthly Internally Generated Revenue (IGR) profile has improved considerably and remains enviable among the 36 states comprising the Nigerian nation.”
According to Igbokwe, “we are requesting all gas, electricity, water and telecom companies operating in the state to forward to the agency, individual statistics and maps on their existing underground facilities in the state. The returns should be forwarded in hard and soft copies and to reach the agency on or before Tuesday 22nd December, 2009.” He added that the information from the statistics would be useful to the agency for record purposes in 2010, while soliciting their compliance to enable Lasimra serve them better in the coming year.
Igbokwe said the agency was worried that service operating companies were slow in their responses to the issue, having written them initially on the subject matter.
Quoting the reference number of the letter written to service operating companies early in the year as LASIMRA/CS/18/VOL.11/286 dated 24th March, 2009, requesting affected companies to make returns to the agency on or before April 18, 2009, Igbokwe said “it is un-gratifying to note that none of the affected companies responded to the earlier request.