APA refute claim over illegal connection at Kimbima Hotel
The Chief Executive Officer of Access Point Africa (APA), Mr. Conrad Coyanda Parkzes has on yesterday 23rd November, 2009 briefed Journalists from various media houses over the false stories being printed in the Standard Times Newspaper in relation to a criminal case that is under prosecution by the government of Sierra Leone and the Director of Public Prosecution. The CEO of Access Point Africa informed Journalists that the DPP’s case is against a former client of APA, that being Trans Pacific Telecom(TPT) and its Chief Executive Officer of one Mr. Stephen Thomas of San Diego, California in the USA and his employee Mr. Gabriel Sesay and another of a Nigerian Nationality whose name he can’t recall. Mr. Coyanda Parkzes explained that, last April he received a call from Mr. Thomas enquiring about VSAT services. He further to expatiated that APA is a registered institution with NATCOM serving as a solution provider/integrator that markets and implements VSAT solutions as well as Cisco internetworking solutions which have legally provided services for numerous customers including London Mining and the United States Agency for Development(USAID). Mr. Coyanda- Parkzes explained that they provided a quote for a de-commissioned VSAT available in the country as well as applicable installation and bandwidth charges; and upon negotiating on the price and receiving partial payment from TPT wireless, he then ordered his staff to install the VSAT for TPT at their premise at Kimbima hotel on 24th July; after which they received their balance payment upon completion of the installation.
Mr. Coyanda- Parkzes went further to sensitize journalists that the current NATCOM regulations stipulated that it is not the responsibility of integrators like APA to sell or provide VSAT license to customers but rather it is the sole responsibility of the VSAT owner (as situation warrants TPT wireless) to apply and pay NATCOM for the VSAT license; as this had been the case with other entities like banks, mining companies, NGO’s that are operating private VSATs acquired and integrated by other solution providers like APA, Tiwai Memory Masters, SBTS group, Limline, SAB Tecnologies etc.
In the press release issued out to journalists at the Access Point Africa premises at 143a Wilkinson Road, the CEO further told Journalists that while NATCOM was on routine raid to TPT Wireless at Kimbima Hotel unfortunately discovered that the said wireless operators were engaged in illegal operation of an international voice gateway and doing illegal VoIP terminations which they have no valid license from NATCOM to operate the VSAT. He again ascertained that it was during this raid that a former employee of APA was engaged in such illegal clandestine activity, and he further stressed that APA was in no way part and parcel to that illegal activities. According to Mr. Coyanda-Parkzes, he said “when the authorities raided the TPT offices, no employee of APA were found at the premises or arrested at the premises. We have provided documented evidence to GOSL authorities that clearly prove that APA only sold and installed VSAT equipment to TPT wireless and never sold or installed any illegal international VOIP equipment to TPT wireless.” Mr. Coyanda-Parkzes also added that that he has an email record where the Chief Technology Officer, Mr. Russell Williams has conspicuously differentiates the VSAT equipment that was sold and installed for TPT wireless.
According to Mr. Salia, one of the engineers of APA, he said during the installation exercise at TPT, they were not even allowed to enter the room of the said installation at the premise. He further stated that NATCOM agents have carried out an unannounced raid at APA offices on 143a Wilkinson Road on Monday October 19th, 2009.As the investigators anticipated, they found no illegal equipment or activities at the stated premises. “In fact, we don’t even own or operate a VSAT at our office as we use Sierratel Internet as our corporate Internet service, confirmed Mr. Coyanda-Parkzes.Â
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