A report by the Auditor General has revealed that the City CCTVs are kaput!

The Sh437 million cameras installed in markets, highways, bus parks, hotel entrances among other strategic places broke down due to poor maintenance, according to a report by the office of the Auditor General.

As this unfolds, the report is under discussion by the Nairobi County Assembly Public Accounts Committee (PAC).

The cameras were a product of the integrated urban surveillance system for Nairobi metropolitan area implemented in 2012.

Lives at stake

Up to 42 CCTV cameras installed in key strategic places in Nairobi are not functional, a report has shown.

The CCTV were introduced, albeit through shady procurement to monitor security and traffic in 2012.

The main roads affected include Moi Avenue, Uhuru Highway, Kenyatta Avenue and Tom Mboya Street. The surveillance system has been heavily relied on to control traffic.

“In these circumstances, the surveillance system and security installations may still not be relied upon to enhance security for the county’s residents,” said Auditor General Edward Ouko.

Officer admits faults

Department of Transport and Public Works chief officer Fredrick Karanja confirmed that the cameras had ceased working for quite a while now.

He, however, absolved the county of blame, saying the project was never handed to the county government for maintenance and therefore, it was not in the county’s budget.

Expressed Interest

As per Mr Karanja, City Hall wrote to the national government asking to be given control of the system in March last year.

“The response was that we had to clear a pending Sh7.2 million bill owed to the contractor who maintains it before it could be handed over to us,” said Karanja.

The contract to install and maintain the surveillance system was handed to M/s Nanjing LES Information Technology Ltd, a Chinese firm in 2012.