Wireless broadband services provider iBurst is still waiting for proof that Fourways residents are ill because of one of its towers.
A meeting scheduled for last night, at which the complaining residents were due to hand over their proof, did not take place. The meeting was apparently cancelled because iBurst was not going to be present, despite the residents' lawyer emphatically stating on Monday that the meeting would go ahead.
The tower at the centre of the issue, which went live on 12 August, is being blamed for a host of illnesses, including skin rashes, headaches, vomiting, sleep disorders, fatigue, upset stomachs, tinnitus and other health conditions.
Lawyer Bismarck Olivier, from Bezuidenhout van Zyl Incorporated, wrote on Monday: “Kindly take note that the meeting, scheduled for Wednesday, 2 December, at 6.15pm, to be held at Fashion TV Caf'e, Cedar Square, will proceed.”
Olivier added that the residents' association would address the press who were expected to gather at the event. The Wednesday meeting was scheduled by residents despite the fact that iBurst had agreed two weeks prior to meet with them on Monday.
Olivier indicates the residents are now looking at the legal remedies available to them, which could include approaching the courts.
Faking it?
iBurst CEO Jannie van Zyl says medical proof was yet again set to be sent to the company by noon yesterday. “However, nothing was delivered.
“We can only take this as an open admission that no such proof ever existed and that all the claims of proof was just a ruse. This would explain their refusal to give us any details of any kind, including their names and addresses,” he claims.
Olivier did not respond to ITWeb's e-mail, sent when the meeting was scheduled to happen last night, requesting comment.
ITWeb queried why last night's meeting was cancelled, without any apparent prior notice. Olivier was also asked what actions the residents would take now, or whether the issue has been dropped.
In addition, he was asked if the symptoms the residents complained about have cleared up while the tower was recently turned off for two weeks.
Defamed?
On Monday, iBurst met with ITWeb, and - as residents had postponed the event to Wednesday - said it would turn the offending tower back on.
iBurst turned the tower off on 16 November as a show of goodwill, but turned it back on again after residents failed to provide proof of their ailments.
Van Zyl has repeatedly denied that iBurst's towers can cause any illnesses, saying wildlife such as birds nest in its towers. In addition, he says all procedures were followed when the planning of the tower started and it has been properly constructed.
He added that iBurst may sue the Fourways residents after they put up posters defaming the company.
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