Umkomaas rising up – Street cameras to help fight crime
Residents and businesses unite to clean and protect the town.
In order to restore the town’s beauty, bring about unity and establish a safe community, several like-minded Umkomaas residents and businesses have joined forces to breathe life into a major community-driven project.
Bravo Six Security director Shaelin Naidoo stood out as being hands-on during recent times of crisis, and caught the eye of a few individuals who immediately saw his potential and his humble nature.
He brainstormed the security aspects of the town with the idea of securing all the entrances and exits with CCTV coverage. What started out as a long term project has quickly evolved over the last month. Despite not being complete, the project is well on its way.
Locals were reporting that crime has become a problem in the Umkomaas area – particularly house break-ins, business robberies, hijackings and attempted hijackings. To potentially catch the criminals and curb crime, Shaelin secured sponsorships to set the ball in motion.
The cameras which are connected to Snipr and the Bravo Six control room are monitored 24/7.
“The aim will be to secure the rest of these points in Umkomaas and then move onto Craigieburn/Roseneath,” said Naidoo.
Additional sponsorship is still needed for this massive project and putting up one of these cameras systems can cost between R15 000 – R20 000, depending on the site.
Fortunately, there has already been a lot of interest from the community and sponsors have stepped up.
One of the first local businesses to contribute was AA Spice and the project is being backed by Neurotel for fibre needs. Blue Ocean Dive Resort, Halfway Toyota Malanda and Gotya Protection Services followed shortly. Others have shown interest and will be getting on board.
This project idea first came about around mid-August and a handful of cameras have been successfully installed to date.
Naidoo added that the aim is to protect their community and connect everyone through this project.
“Simultaneously residents and businesses alike have started on more projects to help keep the town clean and make it attractive to locals and tourists once again.”
“Also a special thanks to Sompizi Dlamini who is the new owner of Shark and Shoal Guesthouse in Umkomaas and Sandy Wheeler who has offered his services as the project manager as they clean up the CBD verges.”
“Also to Solia and Barry Jacobs who clean up in their own capacity and all the others not mentioned who do their bit.”
This dedicated group welcomes everyone in town to join in on the plans to unite the community which includes a street light project, beach and street clean-ups, verge cuttings and more.
“The objective is to get the youth involved in the clean-up projects, to show that people of all ages can help us help our town and instil good values early on.”
To become a sponsor for the current street cameras project, or to find out more about how you can become involved, contact Shaelin Naidoo on shaelin@bravosixgroup.co.za or request the WhatsApp group links.
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