Gov’t seeks to borrow 104 million dollars from Standard Chartered Bank for CCTV Cameras

Government is now seeking the approval of parliament to borrow 104 million dollars from standard chartered bank to fund the CCTV project.

The request presented to parliament by junior finance David Bahati will see the state borrow domestically in what will make the state compete for credit directly with the citizens.

The document has been forwarded to the committee on finance of parliament for perusal.

Speaker of Parliament, Rebecca Kadaga, chaired the plenary sitting of the House on Tuesday 18 September 2018. She referred the loan request to Parliament’s Committee on National Economy for consideration before the House can approve it.

The CCTV project will be implemented by the Ministry of Internal Affairs through Uganda Police Force, while M/s Huawei Technologies (Uganda) Co. Ltd are the designated contractors.

Part of the loan is meant for designing and building the main Command and Control Centre, mobile command and control centres and regional command and control centres; video surveillance through the installation of CCTV cameras across the country; and the installation of integrated communication platforms.

The project requires a total of US$ 126.2 million, of which US$ 104 million will be borrowed from Standard Chartered Bank, while government will provide an additional US$ 22 million.

According to the motion, the project will be implemented in a period of 25 months in two phases, covering Kampala metropolitan areas in phase one and the rest of the country in phase two.

“Over the past years, the few cameras and CCTV system installed by government and private individuals, has greatly improved investigations. From 2015 to date, the CCTV camera evidence has helped in investigation and prosecution of some cases,” reads part of the motion adding that “A lot has been achieved by the currently operating cameras through; securing the city and its surroundings through surveillance, Traffic management, and Securing vital installations.”

Government has in the past week presented several loan requests to Parliament meant for budget support, including to finance the Strategic Towns Water Supply and Sanitation Project (STWSSP), the Local Economic Growth Support (LEGS) Project and the to support the Uganda Intergovernmental Fiscal Transfers Programme for Results.

MPs led by Budadiri West legislator Nathan Nandala Mafabi are however rallying mps to reject the move as the state finally takes a practical step to implementing the president's directive that has remained on paper since it was first mentioned.

In several addresses to the nation, President Yoweri Museveni has said the county needs to install CCTV cameras in major cities to help fight crime. President Museveni has argued that the CCTV cameras in cities like Kampala will help security agencies quickly identify and apprehend criminals who perpetuate deadly offenses like murder.

President Museveni made the suggestion after several high profile persons were gunned down in Kampala but investigators to apprehend their killers have not been very successful so far. Some of the prominent persons that have been killed include former Police AIGP Andrew Felix Kaweesi, former Arua Municipality MP Col (rtd) Ibrahim Abiriga, and most recently former Buyende Police Commander ASP Muhammad Kirumira.