Red tape delays rural connectivity

LIFESTYLES: BADLY HIT BY NO ACCESS TO CELLPHONES

- Eric Mthobeli Naki

A company responsible for building cellphone towers in South Africa's deep rural areas has highlighted how government bureaucracy is hindering full connectivity for poor rural communities.

Many villages, farms and peri-urban areas struggle to connect with the outside world due to a lack of cellphone signals.

This absence of connectivity has negatively affected small businesses, learning and teaching in schools.

Sean Shipalana, director of Moropa Site Solutions, said it could take over a year to construct a single cell tower, which is a relatively small structure.

"We face a chain of delays – some administrative, some structural and some simply logistical," he said.

Erecting a tower involved approval from government departments at the national, provincial and local levels.