IN an apparent bid to increase security on the Bluff, the municipality has signed off on the construction of CCTV towers in key areas, however some residents are concerned the towers will be used as cell masts.
The ire over the project began on Thursday, 13 October when contractors arrived at a small park in Maxwell Avenue. With no signage, residents were concerned about what was being built.
“There were no contact details or project description and the site was not properly secured,” said Bluff Alliance’s (BA) Andy Rossell, who lives nearby.
A community meeting was quickly set up among Maxwell Avenue residents who called for the municipality to confirm the tower’s purpose as a CCTV mast and that it would not be used as a cell tower.
Maxwell Avenue is not the only site of the new towers, with reports of another being erected at the corners of Greys Inn and Tara roads and Lighthouse and Tara roads.
“eThekwini Municipality has embarked on a city-wide CCTV project, which will include license plate recognition cameras. This project is in line with the municipal integrated development programme, which includes creating a safe city as well as the new smart city objective,” explained eThekwini Municipality head of communications, Tozi Mthethwa.
“The municipality strives to ensure all those who live, work, play and invest in eThekwini feel safe in private and public spaces. We believe the safety and security of citizens is critical to ensuring an improved quality of life. The municipality is also committed to job creation that eradicates crime and enables citizens to improve their health and well-being.”
The Maxwell Avenue residents raised concerns about the cameras being able to see into their yards and questioned the selection criterion for the placement sites of CCTV poles.
“This park is a small piece of land and the height of the pole means very little roadway will be visible,” said the BA’s Ivor Aylward.
“The city has established relations with many response agencies and private sector organisations. The objective was to reduce crime in various parts of the city as well as to have coverage of parts of the city where high levels of crime have been reported.
Each site that is categorised as a priority area is identified through crime statistics from the South Africa Police Service, various community police forums, Metro Police, urban management zone unit and other security stakeholders. These cameras are monitored 24 hours, 365 days in a year,” said Mthethwa.
The Sun requested comment on the matter from ward 66 councillor, JP Prinsloo but none was received by the time of going to press.
Do you have more information pertaining to this story?
Feel free to let us know by commenting on our facebook page or you can contact our newsroom on 031 903 2341 and speak to a journalist.
DID YOU KNOW?
Click on the words highlighted in red to read more on this and related topics.
To receive news links via WhatsApp, send an invite to 061 876 3179
The Southlands Sun is also on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and Pinterest – why not join us there?
