Masts in Accra worrying - Mayor

Accra, Aug. 1, GNA - Nii Stanley Adjiri-Blankson, Mayor of Accra, on Wednesday expressed his displeasure at the construction of masts in the city by telecom operators saying masts were not to be erected in residential areas.

"Regrettably, this has not been the case in practice," he noted. "Telecom operators fashionably choose when and where to erect their masts as and when they wish, with the erroneous belief that once they acquire the land from landowners they are free to develop such land without recourse to Accra Metropolitan Assembly (AMA)." Speaking at a day's workshop on Mast Development for telecom operators in Accra, Nii Adjiri-Blankson admitted that mobile communication had been remarkable and also resulted in increased employment opportunities and income to many.

However, he said, the erroneous impression that they could erect their masts anywhere should change for them to work together in unity for the general development of the city.

The general concern of haphazard and uncontrolled springing up of masts in Accra, he said, still persisted thus giving AMA a lot of worry. Nii Adjiri-Blankson said the workshop was therefore to discuss the negative phenomenon with the view of rectifying the anomaly to ensure the control and management of the environment. Operators would be taken through topics such as Mast Development in Accra - Categories and Consumer Issues and Permitting Requirements. The Accra Mayor decried the reported effects on radioactive radiation released by the mast on people living near masts, the inherent dangers and potential damages to life and property in the event of the collapse of these masts.

Nii Adjiri-Blankson quoted the Local Government Act 1993 (Act 462) and various laws, which mandated AMA to provide for the control, regulation, inspection, supervision and licensing of any premises or land, profession, occupation, trade or business and explained that by virtue of the provisions, the Assembly was not only to grant permission for the erection of masts on lands they were situated on but also give the license for their erection.

Nii Adjiri-Blankson told the operators that he was aware of the strenuous effort some agencies like Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), National Communication Authority (NCA), Ghana Atomic Energy Commission had put into preparing guidelines for streamlining mast development in Accra metropolis.

The Mayor also expressed displeasure at the operators for non-payment of Business Operating Fees due the Assembly adding that the unpaid money was seriously affecting the programmes of the AMA. He also referred to the uncontrolled placement of kiosks selling phone cards on pedestrian walkways, drains and every available space and said though the AMA had granted permit to some operators, masts that were not properly placed would be removed during an impending "Operation NIMROD".

They were also tasked to attach litterbins to the kiosks to collect used phone cards and other such disposable items from customers. Mr Kofi Osei, Metro Director, Town Planning, noted that it was unfortunate that telecom operators had ignored the guidelines for mast development.

He said all application on construction of masts would be reviewed and those, which did not meet the approved requirement, would be asked to remove them.

He said AMA would meet the telecom operators and look at the possibility of co-sharing of masts to help bring sanity into mast development in the city.