N$25m city cameras out of order

THE municipality of Windhoek’s N$25 million investment in high-tech surveillance video equipment to monitor and reduce crime is wasted.

The closed-circuit television (CCTV) is part of the Integrated Electronic Monitoring Security System (IEMS) launched by the City Police four years ago.

Several officers, who use the equipment, said most of the cameras do not work at night and this gives criminals a chance to carry out their activities without being detected.

“Most of the cameras are not working. The whole CCTV project is a mess,” a municipal official said last week.

The City Police spent N$7 million buying the cameras and training officials in their maintenance in 2010 for the first phase. City Police chief Abraham Kanime told The Namibian last year that the camera project will cost the city up to N$25 million for installation and maintenance.

Sources said Schoemans Technology was paid a portion of the N$7 million upfront before starting the actual work and that the company allegedly failed to install some cameras.

“Some of the cameras are out of order. Others do not work for up to a month or do not work at all,” said a source.

The City Police have installed approximately 200 cameras at crime hotspots in 2010 to help curb robbery, theft and pick-pocketing amongst others. The cameras are in the central business district (CBD), Post Street Mall, Wanaheda shopping complex and Eveline Street.

Kanime told The Namibian last year that the City Police were planning to install 60 more cameras to fight crime in other areas as well.

The cameras are monitored 24-hours a day, seven days a week from a control room at the City Police headquarters in Windhoek.

It remains unclear as to who got that contract or how it was issued because of the secrecy at the City Police.

About 84 more cameras are yet to be bought but lack of information about who the tenderers are and for what the cameras are being used have raised red flags among aggrieved City Police officers and municipal leaders.

Sources said the companies that received the tenders overcharged the City Police. A municipal source could not recall that a tender was approved to buy the hi-tech cameras, which raises the question of how the companies landed the deals.

Sources said council has been kept in the dark over the troubles at the City Police headquarters regarding the alleged dysfunctional state of most of the cameras. Kanime represents the City Police in the council.

The sources further said information about the faulty cameras is kept a secret because only a few individuals have access to the CCTV room.

“City police pretend in the council that every thing about the cameras is well,” said a source.

Schoemans technician Thomas Castle said the company had not taken any down-payment when it was granted the tender for the cameras four years ago.

He said Schoemans went through a normal tender process and was eventually chosen to install more than 200 cameras across the city as well as in offices and buildings.

“After the surveillance wireless cameras were installed, we trained about 40 police officers on the maintenance. Maintaining the cameras was never our job,” said Castle.

The under-fire Kanime declined to respond to questions about the faulty cameras. Unlike in the past where he allowed the media to inspect the CCTV rooms, Kanime has now bluntly refused to allow journalists access to the control room.

Acting chief executive of the City of Windhoek, Edward Kawesha yesterday refused to comment on the alleged poor state of the cameras. He initially promised to answer by yesterday morning but later postponed giving answers to today.

In an age of information overload, Sunrise is The Namibian’s morning briefing, delivered at 6h00 from Monday to Friday. It offers a curated rundown of the most important stories from the past 24 hours – occasionally with a light, witty touch. It’s an essential way to stay informed. Subscribe and join our newsletter community.