A very important and far reaching legal precedent regarding unlawful and illegal cell tower placements was set earlier this year by the Western Cape High Court when it ruled that Telkom had to get approval from a municipality before conducting projects. This is after the City of Cape Town took the service provider to court.
In a similar case the uMngeni Municipality is planning to take Telkom to court for allegedly unlawfully erecting a cellphone tower on Amber Avenue in Howick.
The tower was erected on the residential street in mid-February, and Telkom had allegedly not made any residential planning applications.
Anther example: the City of Cape Town is taking the case of an illegally erected cell tower at the Full Gospel Church in Parklands to court.
EMFSA asks:
How many more similarly unlawfully erected cell towers are there across South Africa?
Municipalities should, as standard practice, prevent illegal towers from being erected in the first place – it should not be necessary for communities to play the role of the watchdog. To cite lack of manpower to monitor these events is unacceptable.
Who is paying for all these court cases? How much is it costing the taxpayer?
EMFSA requests an urgent public investigation into this matter by the authorities.
References:
uMngeni takes Telkom to court after unlawfully erecting cell tower https://www.news24.com/SouthAfrica/News/umngeni-takes-telkom-to-court-after-unlawfully-erecting-cell-tower-20180605
Cell Tower Declared Unlawful: High Court of South Africa – Judgement delivered 10th of May 2018
This information was by EMFSA -if used we would appreciate a mention.