Following recent demonstrations by a small group of residents in the Eros neighbourhood, against the erection of a base station in that area, MTC would hereby like to clarify its position and also rectify certain allegations that were made in an attempt to mislead the general public.
Tim Ekandjo, Chief Human Capital and Corporate Affairs Officer of MTC, stated that as a company, MTC has done everything possible and what was required to prove to the residents that the radiation levels at its base stations are below the generally acceptable levels as determined by ICNIRP (International Commission on Non-Ionising Radiation protection), which is the world's recognised body giving guidelines on this matter. All mobile operators should comply with this standard, including all Namibian operators and not just MTC.
Ekandjo stated that MTC has taken note of the following concerns of the residents, which are as follows:
1. That the base station will - in the short- and long-term - pose a threat to the health of residents.
2. That consultation on the issue with residents was minimal, and residents could therefore not make their concerns known.
3. That the presence of the base station might affect the property prices.
4. That they don't need a base station in the area because they don't have a problem with reception.
To ensure that the public understands the facts as they are, herewith is MTC's response on the concerns, and what has been done to educate the concerned group on the radiation levels:
1. On the first point raised, Ekandjo reiterated that as a responsible mobile telecommunications company, the health of all citizens is of utmost concern and MTC will never compromise on health standards just to enhance business interests. “I wish to make it clear that MTC has the full permission of the Windhoek City Council to erect a base station in that area. We have applied to the City of Windhoek following the normal procedures and permission was granted to go ahead with the erection of the base station. Following concerns from the residents, MTC has gone out of its way to go through the process of radiation measurements and these results were presented to the City of Windhoek. A professor was then brought in and confirmed that the measurements and transmission level caused no harm and that MTC's radiation levels were 100 000 times less than what ICNIRP prescribes. The City of Windhoek then placed a moratorium on the erection of base stations and consulted widely. The moratorium was lifted on 18 October, after wide consultations with all stakeholders.”
Quote from City of Windhoek's resolution on the matter below when the moratorium was lifted states as follows:
“The City has consulted widely with the community members' concerns, and issues of health effects have been resolved as follows:
“The levels of radio frequency energy emitted by Base Tranceiver Station result in exposure that are well below international accepted limits such as those proposed by International Commission on Non-Ionising Radiation Protection (ICNIRP)....”
Till this date there has been no confirmed scientific evidence that links the normal use of cellphones to effects that could be considered hazardous to human health.
Ekandjo further noted that Namibia as a country is a signatory to the United Nations, and ICNIRP is a body of the World Health Organisation with which MTC complies. “Disagreeing with MTC will therefore constitute disagreeing with the WHO and the City of Windhoek, which are renowned experts on the matter. While we value the residents' concerns, we cannot simply arrest development because a group of residents think such a discovery will be made one day. As a mobile operator, the right to erect base stations is enshrined in our licence, for which we are held responsible for by the regulator. If we do not perform as far as connectivity is concerned, the regulator can take us to task,” Ekandjo remarked.
1. On the issue of consultation, Ekandjo stated that as part of MTC's application to the City of Windhoek before any approval can be granted, MTC is obliged, as part of the EIA (Environmental Impact Assessment), to consult widely with the concerned communities, which was done. “These consultations were done by our consultant on 9 July 2009. The concerns raised by the public were therefore part of the EIA report submitted to the City of Windhoek and The Directorate of Environmental Affairs. These are the authorities that consider these concerns before approving MTC's application. Our application was granted while these concerns were considered by the authorities. In addition to these consultations, the City of Windhoek also arranged for a public platform for consultation on the matter and another session in the presence of the full Council, where the residents were given an opportunity to express their concerns. It is therefore strange for the residents to blame MTC for not consulting with them while extensive consultations took place on the matter.” Ekandjo stated that it is, however, a different matter if the concerned group doesn't agree with the outcome of the consultations
2. On the issue of property prices, Ekandjo stated that this is a new argument that was brought in at the last minute, when these residents lost the initial scientific argument. The residents keep shifting the goal posts, he remarked. Ekandjo, however, stated that MTC is not a property expert, and this concern was raised and considered by the City of Windhoek when they approved MTC's application. “We believe that the City of Windhoek are experts and that they would have taken such concerns into consideration before granting MTC approval. If the concerned group, however, simply do not like the sight of the site, then it is of course a different matter, which does not justify any argument.”
3. On the issue of whether a base station is really needed in the area, Ekandjo stated that this is MTC's prerogative to decide, and not that of the concerned group. “We do not wake up and decide to put base stations everywhere. We have a group of experts who run tests on our network in different areas in Windhoek and Namibia and based on those results we identify areas where we need to improve network coverage and strength. As a company, we have an obligation as part of our licence to provide a reliable network, and these base stations allow us to fulfil our mandate. We have customers that rely on a strong and reliable network, including the security of this country, and we cannot compromise that.
“Taking the above into consideration, we are confident that we have done everything we should have done and more to guarantee the residents' safety, and we have thus decided to exercise our right to continue with the erection of the base station in the interests of customer service, and doing so with the residents' safety guaranteed. We will not be deterred by a 'concerned group' with hidden agendas that serve their own interests and not that of the community they claim to represent,” Ekandjo stated. “Where was this very same group of concerned residents when we erected base stations all over Namibia all these years,” Ekandjo asked. “As far as we are concerned we have consulted widely for eight months and incurred huge losses in the process and will not accept any suggestion to restart a consultation process which we have over-exhausted already,” he remarked
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