CCTV: 6,500 Cameras have been installed, 4,000 Powered and Online – National Security Minister

The Minister for National Security, Albert Kan-Dapaah, has made a case for more Closed-Circuit Television (CCTV) Cameras to be deployed in the country to assist the Security Agencies to effectively identify and respond to security threats across the country.

According to him, Video Surveillance systems have become a critical security tool for monitoring and providing real time surveillance. Adding that, countries with enhanced security were those assessed to have a greater saturation of cameras per citizen for security and surveillance purposes.

He therefore expects that a phased approach by Ghana would enable the country deploy the right level of CCTV camera saturation that would make it more effective and efficient in delivering a safer Ghana to live and conduct business.

Answering a question on the Floor of Parliament on Tuesday, November 2, 2021, the National Security Minister said, Ghana was currently doing less than one camera for every 1,000 people; whereas “a research carried out in 2020 indicated that the city of London has 73.31 cameras per 1,000 citizens, Beijing has 55.03 cameras per 1,000 citizens and New Delhi has 33.73 cameras per 1,000 people.”

He told Parliament that the Government of Ghana through the Ministry of Communications and Huawei Technologies Co. Ltd signed a contract in 2012 for the establishment of the first phase of the Integrated National Security Communications Enhancement Project (Alpha Project – Phase1), to install a network of CCTV cameras and cellular technologies to enhance the operational efficiencies of the security and intelligence agencies of the country.

The House was also informed that the phase 1 of the project delivered about 800 CCTV cameras in Accra, Kumasi, Takoradi, some critical border areas like, Aflao, Elubo and Paga, other critical national installations and some major towns across the country.

The contract for the implementation of the second phase of the project to install 10,000 more cameras and extend its cellular capabilities to every district across the country was signed in December, 2018 and commenced in January 2020. However, the 18-month completion date has been rescheduled to December, 2021 due to interruptions by the COVID-19 pandemic.

“To date, installation works of about 6,500 cameras have been completed, with a little over 4,000 cameras powered and online, mainly in Accra, Kumasi and other regional capitals, and this has aided us to achieve many successes in detecting many infractions and criminal activities, including helping us solve recent violent crimes such as armed robbery and kidnappings,” Mr. Kan-Dapaah indicated.

The National Security Minister’s response was to address a question filed by the Member of Parliament for Wa West, Peter Lanchene Toobu, who wanted to know the state of the project in which CCTV cameras were to be fixed in all Police Stations across the country.

He added that, “Currently, the Police have some 900 police stations in total operational across the country and this Phase 2 project is providing CCTV coverage for all 432 Regional, Divisional and District Police Stations out of the 900, to enable monitoring of these installations; and the remaining stations would be covered in subsequent phases of the project.

“Roll out is currently ongoing, and all 432 stations will be completed before close of the year.”

Source: Clement Akoloh||parliamentnews360.com