Icasa urges communities to help protect towers
The Independent Communications Authority of South Africa (Icasa) has written to the National Joints Operations and Intelligence Services to prioritise the safeguarding and protection of critical telecommunications infrastructure and calls on communities to assist.
This comes as the ongoing acts of violence, looting and arson currently under way across South Africa, particularly Gauteng and KwaZulu-Natal, disrupt communication services, shutter some community radio stations and leave network facilities vandalised.
Icasa, unreservedly condemning the destruction and criminal behaviour, has received several reports of vandalism of communications infrastructure, including 113 network towers, in some parts of the country.
Further, the community radio stations Alex FM, Ntokozo FM, Mams FM and Westside FM, besides others, reported damaged or looted equipment.
“Such wanton destruction of the broadcasting infrastructure and facilities represents a direct attack on the constitutional right of individuals and communities to access news and information that is accurate, unbiased and up-to-date about the current crisis,” said Icasa chairperson Dr Keabetswe Modimoeng.
“Any disruption of communication services could prove disastrous and result in increased mortality as emergency calls may be directly impacted,” he said, calling on the community to assist in safeguarding and protecting the critical infrastructure and to exercise the highest levels of patriotism in this regard.
The authority, through its regional offices in all nine provinces, will continue to closely monitor the situation.
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