MTN faces court challenge over mast roll-out

An organisation calling itself the Durban Anti-Cell Mast Alliance (Dacma) on Friday filed papers at the high court in Durban to stop MTN South Africa from rolling out new towers in the coastal city, it said.

Dacma, which was founded in 2017 to “protest the illegal roll-out of MTN cell masts across Durban”, said in a statement on Monday morning that it lodged papers with the court asking for “a review of the ‘secret deal’ that MTN concluded with the eThekwini municipality” in April 2016.

The alliance alleged that eThekwini head of disaster management Vincent Ngubane “absolved MTN from any regulatory processes” when it erected new infrastructure in the city.

It has accused MTN and the municipality of “disregarding” by-laws and town planning schemes, and of contravening national legislation” and health and safety guidelines.

“Despite numerous newspaper reports, community activism, council questions, applications via the Promotion of Access to Information Act, legal correspondence and public meetings, neither eThekwini municipality nor MTN have done anything to explain how this situation came about, or whether they intend to rectify it.

“We have been forced to go to court because both MTN and the eThekwini municipality have consistently lied about this secret arrangement,” said Dacma spokeswoman Niki Moore in the statement.

“This infrastructure roll-out was completely unprocedural and secret, with the result that MTN put up cell masts, hundreds of them, next to creches, schools, old age homes, on people’s pavements, in play parks, and right outside their homes — with absolutely no consultation, no site planning, no permissions, no scoping and no public process. Anyone who complained was threatened and intimidated,” Moore alleged.

“The research we have done has shown that this roll-out was completely unnecessary, as none of these masts increased cellular connectivity in areas where it was actually required. MTN has done the cellular telephone industry no favours: by proceeding illegally and unprocedurally, they have raised huge concerns about their industry in the minds of the public. Now people are really talking about cell masts, and the effects they are having on property prices, the environment and people’s health.”

‘Better ways’

Dacma said in the statement that is “not against” the roll-out of communications technology but “believes there are better ways to go about it”. It also warned about the health impact of “long-term high-frequency microwaves”.

“The cell companies hide behind the fact that they abide by so-called ‘international limits’,” said Moore, “but they suppress the fact that these limits have been unchanged since 1998, are based on discredited science, and do not consider the massive changes in technology in the last 10 years.

“It is nonsense that municipalities, who make money out of cell mast rental, can dismiss any community concerns about the unverified effects of cell masts from the people who are forced to live right next to them. We are hoping that this court case will make both municipalities and mobile telephone companies stop and think about their reckless actions.”

MTN has been asked for comment. This article will be updated once the company has provided feedback.  — © 2018 NewsCentral Media