We will never implement any technology that will have a detrimental effect on the community – City fathers
The City of Windhoek (CoW) has assured its residents that they will never implement any technology or infrastructure that will have a detrimental effect on them.
The city fathers said this in response to the 5G allegations against them by various companies and people.
According to the municipality, it has approved a Transformational Strategic Plan 2017-2020, which is entrenched in the City’s Vision of becoming a Smart and Caring City by the year 2022.
“To this end, we approved a strategic initiative, to monetise and expand our existing fibre optic network, in partnership with industry role players and other stakeholders,” the municipality said.
The authorities said it is important to note that the allegations lack concrete facts and have unfortunately created an incorrect public perception that can negatively be construed and or impact the image of the municipality.
“We have been awarded a Class Comprehensive Electronic Communication Network Services (ECNS) and Electronic Communication Services (ECS) License by the Communications Regulatory Authority of Namibian (CRAN) on 31 March 2020 as part of our Optic Fibre Monetization Project and Smart City solutions”.
According to the City the Optic Fibre upgrade and expansion of their broadband is required to roll out Smart City Services such as smart water and electricity metering, monitoring of traffic flow in real time, improved emergency prevention and response, as well as rolling out Wi-Fi to the public.
“Therefore, the infrastructure that will be constructed through this project is public infrastructure, with no exclusive usage and the Council has never approved any roll out of 5G and no by law was passed in this regard,” they added.
Meanwhile, the municipal council reassured the residents of Windhoek that they are a caring city as per the vision statement and remain committed to social progression and public safety with specific emphasis on people and service orientation.
