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Absence of NMB metro surveillance cameras contributing to bloodshed

By

Dear Editor

While innocent children like three-year-old Emilio Hutchinson are being brutally killed by gangsters in the Northern Areas, the Nelson Mandela Bay municipality under the leadership of Mayor Gary van Niekerk and his ANC/EFF/NA/PA coalition have found it impossible to implement surveillance cameras in the city.

To add insult to injury, this Doomsday Coalition of Corruption allowed the contract for Shotspotter technology in the Northern Areas to lapse.

The lack of surveillance cameras and Shotspotter technology have had a massive negative impact on the ability of the South African Police Service (SAPS) to fight crime in Nelson Mandela Bay.

The metro also failed to implement its Safer City project which would have seen an amount of R30 million invested in surveillance equipment. Last year, Mayor Van Niekerk indicated that he would continue with the Safer City Project and ensure that his coalition government install 600 cameras before Christmas in criminal hotspots. To date, not a single camera has been installed.

Where the DA governs in the Kouga Municipality the safety of residents come first and the municipality’s Community Safety Plan is at the forefront of using technology to keep residents safe.

The municipality’s state-of-the-art Incident Command Centre in Humansdorp has the capacity to monitor more than 300 cameras – with municipal and private security cameras feeding into the system. Various social media and community messaging groups are also monitored to report information regarding incidents to the relevant authorities.

The 35 licence plate recognition cameras that have been installed have also been instrumental in assisting the police to monitor known criminals and make countless arrests.

Residents of the crime-ridden Northern Areas are trapped in their homes due to the violence perpetrated by gangsters, but now their homes, that should be sanctuaries of safety, have also become crime-scenes. The metro has a role to play in ensuring their safety, but is failing miserably.

Kouga is an example of a DA government’s ability to implement its plan to Rescue South Africa by halving violent crime, including murder, attempted murder, and gender-based violence when elected to govern after the 29 May General Election.

The DA is in your corner, fighting for you. Together we can rescue South Africa.

Regards

Cllr Gustav Rautenbach
DA NMB Spokesperson for Safety and Security

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