CC image courtesy of Mike_fleming on Flickr.
The closed circuit television (CCTV) project in Nairobi could finally begin moving forward after Joseph Ole Lenku, Kenya’s interior cabinet secretary, said the tender will be awarded in a month’s time.
Lenku, who has come under pressure since the Westgate Mall attack earlier this month, has reassured Kenyans the government was taking security seriously.
While responding to a question by Citizen Television host Hussein Mohammed on how the government was undertaking police reforms, Lenku acknowledged various projects intended to make the city safer had been delayed.
“Let me assure Kenyans, Kenyans have my word on this, the procurement process of the city’s CCTV camera will be over within a month,” he said.
The process of wiring up the city with surveillance cameras has had many challenges, including one by an activist who has gone to court challenging the procurement process.
The government had in 2012 planned to mount cameras in 41 locations in the city at a cost of KSh437 million (US$5 million), part of a KSh8.5 billion (US$98 million) loan from the government of China.
“To be frank we are putting terrorists and those criminals on notice,” said the then minister for Nairobi Metropolitan, Jamleck Kamau, during a press briefing.
“Their days are actually numbered, because as soon as this project finishes, those people who will be committing crimes and terrorists will have nowhere to hide.”
Earlier this year Kenya police said the installation of CCTV in the city could lead to a 10 per cent decrease in crime.
