Nairobi CCTV budget a waste of cash - reps

NAIROBI MCAs have rejected an assembly committee recommendation urging the county government to purchase and install more CCTV cameras in the city.Last month, the Transport Committee released a report showing the CCTVs cameras installed in the central business district are of poor quality and cannot be relied on to monitor traffic and security.

by JULIUS OTIENO

Opinion20 January 2019 - 04:36

IS BIG BROTHER WATCHING? CCTV cameras on Kenyatta Avenue where Kabete MP George Muchai was killed by gunmen on February 7.Photo/Enos Teche

NAIROBI MCAs have rejected an assembly committee recommendation urging the county government to purchase and install more CCTV cameras in the city.

Last month, the Transport Committee released a report showing the CCTVs cameras installed in the central business district are of poor quality and cannot be relied on to monitor traffic and security.

The report revealed some of the cameras are broken down and others are not working at all. It said 33 out of the 40 functioning cameras produce low quality images that cannot be relied on by security agencies.

The committee recommended that the county government buys and installs modern CCTVs with wide coverage in the CBD. The committee investigation was prompted by the killing of Kabete MP George Muchai.

Muchai was killed on Kenyatta Avenue alongside his three aides.The cameras, however, did not capture the killers or the number plate of the vehicle they used.

The CCTV project was initiated by Nairobi Metropolitan Ministry and funded by the World Bank for Sh400 million before the county government took over.

The MCAs said the county government should not spend more money on buying more cameras until the people who procured 'the faulty' ones are investigated.