News / Local
Telecel illegally erects base stations
03 Jul 2014 at 13:27hrs | Views
MOBILE network operator, Telecel Zimbabwe, illegally erected base stations in Bulawayo without the approval of the local authority, council has said.
In an report contained in the latest council minutes, the Director of Engineering Services, Engineer Simela Dube noted that the telecommunications firm, had about 60 base stations in the city with a majority of them being illegal.
"Some of the base stations were erected in 1999 and Telecel had been enjoying the benefits of using them without paying any levies to council. Council therefore had to back date bills to the time when these base stations were erected," read the director's report.
Some of the base stations were said to have been erected on council land and on tower lights while others were on private land.
When council discovered this, a meeting was held between the two parties, where it was agreed that Telecel would with immediate effect grant council unlimited access to the tower lights they occupy for repairs to be done.
The company was also asked to provide timeframe within which they would comply with council requirements.
The report noted that what irked council was that tower lights were inaccessible, cables supplying power to the tower lights were now cast in concrete, equipment had been put on tower lights, buildings and on council land without council permission, among other issues.
In response, Telecel indicated that their accounts department was handling the issue of outstanding council bills so that payments could be made.
They also agreed that regularisation of the illegal base stations would be done together with the processing of lease agreements, submitting building plans for approval.
"It was also agreed that when Telecel was given a Tower Light, they would take ownership by putting a backup generator to keep the lights on even when there was load shedding.
"Replace the bulbs, paint the tower to prevent rust and pay the ZESA bill for the tower. The above would be included as conditions in the lease agreement," read the report.
The Town Clerk, Middleton Nyoni, also advised that Town Planning would continue to monitor the erection of such base stations accordingly, for control purposes.
In an report contained in the latest council minutes, the Director of Engineering Services, Engineer Simela Dube noted that the telecommunications firm, had about 60 base stations in the city with a majority of them being illegal.
"Some of the base stations were erected in 1999 and Telecel had been enjoying the benefits of using them without paying any levies to council. Council therefore had to back date bills to the time when these base stations were erected," read the director's report.
Some of the base stations were said to have been erected on council land and on tower lights while others were on private land.
When council discovered this, a meeting was held between the two parties, where it was agreed that Telecel would with immediate effect grant council unlimited access to the tower lights they occupy for repairs to be done.
The company was also asked to provide timeframe within which they would comply with council requirements.
In response, Telecel indicated that their accounts department was handling the issue of outstanding council bills so that payments could be made.
They also agreed that regularisation of the illegal base stations would be done together with the processing of lease agreements, submitting building plans for approval.
"It was also agreed that when Telecel was given a Tower Light, they would take ownership by putting a backup generator to keep the lights on even when there was load shedding.
"Replace the bulbs, paint the tower to prevent rust and pay the ZESA bill for the tower. The above would be included as conditions in the lease agreement," read the report.
The Town Clerk, Middleton Nyoni, also advised that Town Planning would continue to monitor the erection of such base stations accordingly, for control purposes.
Source - radiodialogue
