EDLEEN residents were left frustrated last week when two generators were placed on Floria Road to power a cellphone tower inside Laerskool Edleen on July 8.
EXPRESS engaged network operators as soon as complaints started pouring in about one of the generators that were loud and smoking.
According to Edleen Proper Residents Association chairperson Kevin Walker the loud and smoky generator has since been removed.
“We thank Kempton Express for their intervention. There were so many people complaining about this,” he said to EXPRESS.
In a written reply to Express, MTN wrote: “MTN can confirm that on July 8, the Edleen area in Kempton Park experienced a power failure. In an effort to ensure that customers within the Edleen community remained connected, MTN, alongside other network operators, installed generators. MTN’s generator was removed later that day when power was restored.
“As the site belongs to MTN, we have requested the other network operators who haven’t switched off their generators to do so because once it is done, there will be no noise from the tower. We would like to thank the community for bringing this to our attention.”
Ward councillor Tracey Lourenco said what was done there was unacceptable. She communicated with the department of health for intervention immediately after receiving complaints. She further urged frustrated locals to allow her to resolve this within the law.
When EXPRESS visited the area to witness what the people were complaining about, an elderly man, who asked not to be named, said his nextdoor neighbour and himself were probably the most affected because they stayed closest to where the generators were left.
One parent said the generators posed a threat to the lives of children. One generator was on the street and the other on the grass outside the school’s tower enclosure and children might have grabbed onto the thick cables.
“These generators belong to the network service operators. Network service operators might know who exactly these generators belong to because I often see their vehicles here leaving generators from time to time.
“We cannot sleep and the smoke is really bad. If you can hear the motor of the white smoke generator now, image how loud it is after midnight. The elderly woman next door said her eyes were red because she was struggling to fall asleep at night,” said the elderly man.
Another resident, Petronella Rossouw, said: “These generators create pollution and if you walk past without long sleeve shirts you can feel something on your skin because of the radiation. This is really terrible.”
