Achieving sustainable cities: analysis of the factors that influence compliance with telecommunication masts siting standards in Ghana

Figures & data

Table 1. Literature and their contribution to the study.

Reference	Contribution
National Communication Authority (2010); Town and Country Planning Department (2011)	Provided guidelines that guide the siting of masts in Ghana Provided justification for the selection of stakeholders for interviews
Government of Canada (2015); Industry Canada (2012); UK Government (2008, 2013, 2016); The City of Polokwane (2015).	Provided the context of how masts are sited in the UK, Canada and South Africa
Addy-Nayo (2001); Arthur (2019); Eshun (2009); Osei-Owusu (2015)	Provided an overview of the telecommunication industry in Ghana
Bello (2010); Bond et al. (2003); Donkoh et al. (2017); Støttrup-Andersen et al. (2017); Winkelmann and Duch (2019)	Highlighted urbanization and the demand for telecommunication services and masts
Abdel-Rassoul et al. (2007); Adeniji et al. (2015); Danladi et al. (2016); Everaert and Bauwens (2007); Santini et al. (2002); Odunola et al. (2015)	Unpack the dangers associated with living in close proximity to telecommunication masts
Amponsah et al. (2021); Takyi et al. (2021)	Provided the level of compliance to the siting of masts in Ghana
Weible and Heikkila (2017)	Provided the context for policy compatibility analysis
Hatsu et al. (2016); Osei-Owusu (2015)	Highlighted the infrastructure sharing policy
Gunningham (2010); Gunningham and Sinclair (2017); O’Callaghan and Vivoda (2017)	Provided the perspective of enforcement and inspection by regulating agencies
Kobayashi and Grasmick (1990)	Highlighted rewards and punishment as a means of ensuring compliance

Source: Author’s construct, 2022.

Table 2. Policies’ compatibility analysis.

	Sectoral Policies	Other Sectoral Policies
	ISP ILP	NUP1 LUSPA NEP NHP NTP ZGPS LGA
GCT	1 1	1 11 11 1 1

Source: Author’s construct, 2020.

Key to the acronyms in Table 1

GCT = Guideline on Communication Towers NHP = National Health Policy

ISP = Infrastructure Sharing Policy NTP = National Telecommunication Policy

NUP = National Urban Policy LUSPA = Land Use and Spatial Planning Act

ZGPS = Zoning Guidelines and Planning Standards NEP = National Environmental Policy

LGA = Local Government Act.

Figure 1. Factors influencing compliance of standard in siting telecommunication masts.

Source: Author’s Construct, 2021.

Figure 2. Installed Camouflaged Telecommunication Mast, South Africa. Source: The City of Polokwane, 2015.

Figure 3. Installed Telecommunication Tower in Polokwane, South Africa. Source: The City of Polokwane, 2015.

Table

Policies	Score	Explanation for the Score
Guideline on Communication Towers (GCT) and Infrastructure Sharing Policy (ISP)	1	ISP recognises the importance of reducing the growing number of telecommunication masts and towers in the cities. In this vein, ISP acknowledges the need for fair competition, minimize public inconvenience and cost of each operator using a separate infrastructure in an area. Again, ISP intends to protect people and the environment from the harmful effects of telecommunication infrastructure by reducing the number of masts and towers across the cityscape. These provisions complement the GCT intent of addressing the growth and environmental sanity in the siting of telecommunication masts and towers. The study sees the guideline and the policy document as compatible.
Guideline on Communication Towers (GCT) and Infrastructure Licensing Policy(ILP)	1	The policy made way for tower business in Ghana. ILP allowed independent companies to build and own telecommunication infrastructure in the country. ILP recognize the need to reduce the number and cost of telecommunication infrastructures, leveraging competition among mobile operators while improving network in remote areas that would have been difficult financially for a single operator. It has a focus to minimise the number of masts across the cityscape by ensuring that different operators share infrastructure owned by tower companies. The ILP also seeks to minimize the negative impacts of masts people and the environment. The study sees the guideline and policy as compatible because both intend to reduce the impact telecommunication masts on humans and the environment. This practice(ILP) is expected to promote compliance by ensuring there is competition in the provision of masts and towers.
Guideline on Communication Towers (GCT) and National Urban Policy (NUP)	1	The goal of the NUP is to promote a sustainable, spatially integrated and orderly development of urban settlements with adequate housing, infrastructure and services, efficient institutions, and a sound living and working environment for all people to support the rapid socio-economic development of Ghana. The NUP aims to address some of the fundamental issues associated with urban development and management in Ghana. The issues include urban land use disorder, uncontrolled urban sprawl, inadequate urban services and increasing environmental deterioration. NUP also seeks to ensure efficient urban infrastructure and service delivery while promoting spatially integrated order of urban centres on a sustainable basis. The study sees the guideline and policy document as compatible.
Guideline on Communication Towers (GCT) and the Land Use and Spatial Planning Act (LUSPA)	1	The purpose of the LUSPA is to provide for sustainable development of land and human settlements through a decentralised planning system, ensure judicious use of land in order to improve quality of life, promote health and safety in respect of human settlements and to regulate national, regional, district and local spatial planning. The Act stresses the need to develop District Assemblies and other institutions for the effective performance of their spatial planning and human settlement management functions. The need to strengthen MMDA’s and other institutions for sustainable implementation of the LUSPA and the effective collaboration of agencies responsible for monitoring and inspection of spatial activities which include telecommunication base stations is in tandem with the goal of GCT of ensuring the growth and environmental sanity in the siting of masts. The study sees the two policy documents as compatible.
Guideline on Communication Towers (GCT) and National Environmental Policy (NEP)	1	The NEP sees the need for an environment that is not harmful to the health and wellbeing of people and is enjoined to have the environment protected for the benefit of present and future generations through reasonable legislative and administrative measures. The policy intends to manage the environment to sustain society at large. The NEP under the aegis of EPA is to ensure integrated and coordinated implementation of environmental management to promote citizens’ quality of life and their living and working environments. NEP supports interventions and the need to institute regulatory mechanisms aimed at monitoring and regulating actions that have an impact on the environment. The study sees the two policy documents as compatible.
Guideline on Communication Towers (GCT) and National Health Policy (NHP)	1	The NHP recognises the important role of healthy environments where people live, go to school, and work to national development. In this vein, the NHP recognizes the need to engage stakeholders to enact and enforce legislation to reinforce health promotion attitudes and protect the environment. The study sees the two policy documents as compatible.
Guideline on Communication Towers (GCT) and National Telecommunication policy (NTP)	1	The NTC recognises the need to regulate the telecommunication sector. The NCA is mandated to have the authority to monitor and enforce compliance with standards, and issue penalties that appropriate for non-compliance. The NTC strongly recommend facility sharing among telecommunication operators. Facility sharing is however, the first option for operators to expand coverage in the GCT. The NTP largely provides a general context for which the telecommunication industry in Ghana can realize its full potentials and goals. The NTP objective is supported by the GCT. The study sees the two policy documents as compatible.
Guideline on Communication Towers (GCT) and Zoning Guidelines and Planning Standard (ZGPS)	1	The ZGPS provides clarification on the permissible uses of land and the space requirements for spatial developers. The guideline specifically, provides clear definitions for land use activities within each land use zone; the uses that are permitted and prohibited in these zones. ZGPS aims to supports planning authorities in their efforts to promote harmonious human settlement planning and management. ZGPS provides location criteria and safety standards for the siting of telecommunication masts support the GCT. The study sees the two policy documents as compatible.
Guideline on Communication Towers (GCT) and Local Government Act (LGA)	1	The LGA recognize the need for MMDAs’ to be responsible for the development, improvement and management of human settlements and the environment within the catchment area of the Assembly. The LGA also posits that all spatial development must conform to planning standards and approvals which is in tandem with the GCT’s strategy of regulating the deployment of masts according to standards. Thus, LGA and GCT are mutually reinforcing to prevent as much as possible the destruction of the environment. The study sees the two policy documents as compatible.

Source: Author’s construct, 2020.

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