Mzamomhle wants church to divide tower’s ‘loaves, fishes’

BUFFALO City Metro has given the green light for a cellular network tower in Mzamomhle near Gonubie which residents bitterly oppose, saying it will bring them no economic benefit.

Construction for the 20m tower was completed in April and it is expected to go live soon.

The well-secured tower is inside an Assemblies of God Church plot which also houses a children’s daycare centre.

It was erected by a US company called Atlas Towers. The company told the Dispatch it had no financial obligation with the community but paid the church a monthly rental.

Assemblies of God representative Mbulelo Boyana said the tower would benefit the community with strong network signals from cellphone companies such as Cell C, MTN and Vodacom.

At the centre of the community dispute, according to South African National Civic Organisation (Sanco) Mzamomhle chairman Buyisile Ndamane, is that cellphone companies rake in billions of rands annually through high data costs and other related products.

“The cellphone companies are going to make money as a result of this tower which has been erected in the middle of our houses, our land and we are saying we must benefit.

“There is a drought of development in our community and whoever in the municipality was involved in negotiating for this tower to be erected here, did not have the interest of the community at heart,” Ndamane said.

He said the youths of Mzamomhle were involved in alcohol and drug abuse that led them to committing horrific crimes because they have nothing else to do.

He said Atlas Towers, with the “loot” they could be getting from cellphone companies, could contribute to building a youth centre where residents could benefit from artisan skills development to equip them for the job market.

Responding to this, the comp Henco Pretorius said: “Please note that we entered into a lease agreement with the church (the owner of the property) whereby the church receive monthly rental amounts.

“The church will be using the money for their community projects.

“Please note we do not make money from the tower. We are merely an infrastructure company that houses a tower in order to provide network coverage for the community which enables the community to communicate.”

He declined to divulge how much they were paying the church. Boyana also declined to reveal how much Atlas was paying them.

“We were of the opinion that BCM will negotiate on behalf of the people, because BCM is there for the people and they were the overseer of this project,” the church leader said.

BCM spokesman Samkelo Ngwenya yesterday said he would not be in a position to comment until he had “factual information”.

Community member Mluleki Senga said: “Jesus divided the loaves and fishes with his people, why can’t the church do the same for this community?” —