Government intends to borrow US $104 million from Standard Chartered Bank, to finance the closed-circuit television (CCTV) network in the country.
Under national safe city CCTV project, 5,552 CCTV cameras are required for the nationwide installation and are to be delivered by Huawei, a Chinese firm.
However, of the 5, 552, only 3233 cameras are expected to be placed in Kampala metropolitan, an areas which covers the biggest percentage of Uganda’s population.
The Shs455 billion project started last year and So far over 200 have been installed around Kampala as the campaign to reduce crime rages on.
In a plenary chaired by the Deputy Speaker Jacob Oulanyah Minister of State for Planning, David Bahati presented a request to Parliament for government to borrow US $104 million.
Bahati said that the CCTV cameras have significantly reduced crime in the city and therefore, he proposed that the requested loan will help to further reduce crime in the country.
According to the Annual Crime Report 2017, the Uganda Police Force investigates an average of 100,000 cases per year and the current cost of investigating one criminal case Is at least Shs5 million. “With the CCTV system in place, the cost of criminal investigation will reduce to an estimated cost Shs2 million per case.”
Bahati further informed House that a total of 220 cases have been investigated and prosecuted with the help of CCTV footage, between 2015 and 2018.
A couple of MPs who backed the proposal to borrow and finance the CCTV network, requested that maintenance costs should also be catered for.
Kalungu County West legislator Joseph Ssewungu Gonzaga said CCTV cameras should not only be installed in the city but in the rural areas as well. He also suggested that government should consider deploying sniffer dogs in rural areas to help reduce the crime rate.
Mukono South MP Johnson Muyanga, said dangerous spots should be considered adding that Sometimes cameras are installed in areas with low crime rate.
Erute South MP, Jonathan Odur proposed that the loan for CCTV cameras require further scrutiny to for example assess the already contracted supplier. He said there may not be value for money when the supplier was contracted on a head hunting basis.
