iBurst finally fed up

The Fourways tower issue is now closed, says iBurst CEO Jannie van Zyl.

iBurst says it has been trying to resolve claims that the tower caused Fourways residents to become ill, but the residents were unwilling to provide it with information it had repeatedly requested.

The tower at the centre of the debacle was constructed in August and residents began complaining in the press in September that it made them ill. They claimed the tower caused skin rashes, headaches, vomiting, sleep disorders, fatigue, upset stomachs, tinnitus and other health conditions.

iBurst turned the tower off on 16 November as a show of goodwill, says CEO Jannie van Zyl, but the company will turn the tower back on this morning after residents failed to come to the table with proof.

The tower is located at a private cemetery, Fourways Memorial, in the suburb of Craigavon, and was activated on 12 August.

Ignored

Van Zyl says it appears as if there never was any intention by the residents to resolve the issue, and he considers it closed. “All attempts made by the company to engage with the community over the last few months were snubbed.”

iBurst has yet to be given any medical proof that the tower actually caused residents to become ill, Van Zyl says.

The final straw was when residents failed to attend a meeting last night, which had been agreed upon two weeks ago, instead asking to postpone it to Wednesday, Van Zyl says. He adds that this is not on, as the residents had two weeks in which to make alternative arrangements.

In a letter to the leader of the residents' committee, Van Zyl writes: “You provided no reason for wanting to postpone the meeting, and taking your track record of postponing or cancelling meetings requested by iBurst in the past, there was no compelling reason to postpone once again and the meeting was to go ahead.”

At loggerheads

The residents' lawyer, Bismarck Olivier, from Bezuidenhout van Zyl Incorporated, says iBurst will be provided with its proof at the Wednesday meeting.

He says the meeting will go ahead, despite the fact that iBurst considers the issue closed, and the residents will address the media at the Wednesday meeting.

Olivier adds that no meeting had actually been confirmed for last night. “Our client denies that any form of delaying tactics are employed. In the bigger scheme of things, two extra days make no difference.”

The letter from the lawyer to Van Zyl also denies that residents have not been cooperating with iBurst, saying Van Zyl is not prepared to directly engage with residents because he is not willing to attend Wednesday's meeting.

Van Zyl says the company is reserving its rights over possible legal action regarding the defamatory posters that the residents put up.

Related stories:

• iBurst to turn on tower
• iBurst runs out of patience

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