Metro rushes to repair city CCTV system

The Nelson Mandela Bay Municipality is in a mad rush to repair its CCTV cameras around the city centre in time for the Ironman 70.3 World Championship in September.

The municipality also hopes to replace the entire CCTV system in the metro after six brand new municipal vehicles were stolen last month.

This is despite the city forking out close to R100m for its current CCTV system, which has since become unreliable due to constant disruptions and network shutdowns.

Safety and security portfolio chair John Best said the CCTV system repair would include CCTV cameras as well.

Best said the CCTV cameras were obsolete as they had been installed as far back as 2010.

Executive director Keith Meyer said a three-year business plan would be drawn up to replace the CCTV system.

Meyer was responding to questions from councillors on Monday about how municipal assets kept disappearing from municipal buildings.

DA councillor Gustav Rautenbach questioned how two flat screens had been stolen from the Lillian Diedericks building in April.

“Don’t we have CCTV cameras? How is it that these things just disappear, don’t we lock our stuff away? Is there no security on municipal property?” he asked.

Rautenbach said theft of municipal items appeared not to be a priority as minimal action was taken.

“We have five to six municipal bakkies stolen out of municipal property. Clearly it is an inside job. I would like a report on this. We need to find out what is happening.”

Meyer said CCTV cameras in the city centre were being repaired in preparation for the Ironman 70.3 World Championship on September 1-2.

The second phase of repairing CCTV cameras would be rolled out in Helenvale before the new CCTV cameras are rolled out along the Integrated Public Transport System (IPTS) route in Cleary Park.

“We are busy repairing the CCTV cameras in the city. We are prepared for the Ironman and for that we have a contractor on site,” Meyer said.

Meyer said the safety and security department would draw up a business plan in an effort to secure money.

“There are a lot of cameras in the city and they are not operational. We want to have a three-year business plan to get the necessary funding to replace the entire CCTV system within the metro,” he said.

Meyer said he would submit a report on the stolen vehicles at the next portfolio committee meeting.

“The issue of the stolen bakkies falls within the competency of the vehicle theft unit and at this point they are tightlipped about it,” he said.