Bulawayo City Council (BCC) in partnership with Tendy Three Investments (TTI), has begun installing closed-circuit television (CCTV) cameras on various roads in Bulawayo’s Central Business District (CBD).
As reported by CITE, TTI was awarded a tender by the local authority in 2022 to develop the US$2.2 million parking system through a public-private partnership.
The new parking system includes software designed to count vehicles, increase visibility, and enhance security across the city.
BCC corporate communications manager, Nesisa Mpofu, said that the the first phase of camera installation, which started on Monday, covers the area from Fife Street to Robert Mugabe Way. She said:
In line with the parking management contract, Tendy Three Investments Parking Solutions has initiated the installation of street cameras on various roads in the city
These cameras will primarily be used to oversee the parking management project, ensuring the proper execution of duties by marshals and enforcement teams.
The first phase of installation covers Fife Street to Robert Mugabe Way, with plans to eventually cover the entire Central Business District.
Mpofu said the primary objective of the camera surveillance system is to oversee the activities of parking marshals as well as to track movements within the parking areas.
The cameras will also check the speed at which vehicles are travelling, monitor traffic violations at robots, conduct traffic counts by recording the number of vehicles passing through and record the areas surrounding the CCTV installations.
However, some activists have raised concerns that these cameras could be misused by law enforcement agencies to monitor citizens under the guise of crime prevention, reminiscent of the Orwellian “Big Brother” system.
“Orwellian” refers to concepts from George Orwell’s dystopian novel 1984, where a totalitarian regime, symbolised by “Big Brother,” exercises extreme surveillance and control over its citizens through cameras and other means.
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