Government has started receiving fresh bids for the installation of Closed Circuit Television (CCTV) camera on the streets of Lusaka.
In September last year, then Home Affairs Minister Edgar Lungu was forced to cancel a $210 million tender awarded to Chinese firm Zhongxing Telecom Services (ZTE) to install CCTV around Lusaka streets after a public outcry.
Mr Lungu was forced to cancel the tender which was named the Public Security Safety Network Phase III project or the Safe City Project after allegations of corruption in the bid process emerged.
At the time, Mr Lungu announced that he had terminated the contract following mounting allegations of non-compliance to standard regulations in the manner it was awarded.
Stakeholders such as Transparency International Zambia had even demanded that government suspends officials who took part in the signing of the contract after it had handed over a 57 paged dossier of evidence on the alleged irregular signing of the contract with ZTE to the Anti Corruption Commission.
But Home Affairs Deputy Minister Colonel Gerry Chanda told Journalists on Tuesday that Government has decided to re-table the bid and will soon announce the successful bidder for the project.
Without disclosing financial details of the project, Colonel Chanda said this time around, government has decided not to single source the contract in order to satisfy all stakeholders who raised transparency issues in the initial contract.
‘We have continued to receive fresh bids, in fact, just yesterday, I received some bids for the Lusaka Safe City project and the last day for receiving bids should be sometime next week Friday,’ Colonel Chanda said.
He added, ‘We have taken care of the concerns raised by all stakeholders and we want to ensure that Government pays the correct price for the contract and no kick backs will be entertained.’
Colonel Chanda said Government is restarting the project to ensure that Lusaka City becomes an even securer city in order to encourage investment.
‘This time around, there shall be no corruption involved, we don’t want inflated costs. Whatever will come out of this bid process will be made public because we want to encourage transparency in selecting our bids.’
Lusaka Safe City Project….my foot!!, how can Lusaka be safe with all the garbage and filth in the city.
Lusaka is currently one of the most disgusting cities in Africa, I would suggest using that money to clean the city, those cameras will not serve any purpose, no one will be watching them and most of the time they will not be working.
Lusaka is dirty and will remain dirty if we all sit back and do nothing. My observation is that we have failed ourselves to clean our towns and cities. I have seen it with my own eyes that the city council for Lusaka is making an effort to keep the town center clean but we are letting them down by virtue of our behavior. In short we have failed to manage ourselves but would rather be micromanaged by someone else. What a shame if we can indiscriminately throw our trash everywhere without thinking of what it will do to the environment. Here I am referring to things like paper, paper cups, paper plates, plastic bags, bottles, etc. If you see someone trashing the city tell them that what they are doing is wrong. READ NEXT
If they choose not to agree with what you are telling them, carry out a citizens arrest and hand them over to the police. In some cases, you have to play undercover using the cell phone to take pictures of them throwing the trash and use it as evidence after handing them over to the police. What I have suggested here are simple things we can do as citizens to police ourselves and make Zambia a better place for everyone. For sure our towns and cities are filthy dirty because you and I have failed to do the right thing. We must tiyende pamodzi and keep our towns and cities clean. One Zambia One Nation.
It seems like someone has been watching Big Brother Africa far for too long and now they think they can host their own on the streets of Lusaka.
Unfortunately, this project is going to be an utter fiasco on numerous levels and for so many reasons. In as much as I think that cameras may help solve a crime, in reality they do very little to nothing in preventing crimes.
My advise is that lets use that money to equip and improve police patrols and street lighting. This is more effective than a stationary camera. Please stop wasting and stealing taxpayers’ money all in the name of development.
Lusaka must be renamed as the Garbage city of SADCC.Just came back from Zambia and went to SOWETO market.Oh no!There were mountains of garbage.Human excreta,urine,food traders name it,everything was all over and it was business as usual.
@Junior-Jr – I completely agree with you. The level of crime in our city is so low that it does not warrant this sort of expenditure. Why do we like copying things blindly? Zambia we lack freedom of thought. Time will come when we will need these CCTV in Lusaka as for now we need to improve on our infrastructure, and cleanliness to keep our people healthy. Health is Development and Safety!!
The project is necessary but it can not cost $210 million (alsmost quarter a billion). Johanesburg City installed cameras in Joburg which has so many equivalents of Cairo roads in one Joburg CBD for just about $10 million. Why should it cost so much to install cameras on almost a single Cairo road.
Do people really understand how much $210 million is? It is a lot of money which can cater for a lot of projects. It can’t be. Teti!
In fact they started with installing cameras at the Manda Hill and Tokyo Way traffic lights.
The idea is good but how can we cut down on cost? My suggestion is that we must have a policy in place that will require business entities to install security cameras inside and outside of their area of operation. This way when a crime does take place, the investigation agents can quickly go the businesses around and look at the video footage. As for those that will be mounted at road intersections, the government must foot the bill. One Zambia One Nation.
only those wit extra affairs will be against cctv. wonderful.
…all we need is for the Lsk city council to pass a bye-law compelling all shop owners to install the same under the supervision and recommendation/design of a consultant engaged by the govt/council everywhere around city centre, kamwala etc…..that way the govt/council will just be left with very few sites like junctions with traffic lights etc….that way we wont need to spend that ridiculous colossal amount……
YOU CAN’T LIGHT THE CITY, CAN’T KEEP IT CLEAN AND YOU THINK YOU WILL MAINTAIN CCTV CAMERAS. GET SERIOUS PEOPLE!!!
Eyes has said it very clearly. You and I have failed to keep our cities clean. It starts with me and you. Let us stop throwing litter carelessly. That rubbish which we are always complaining about will not be there if we do not throw litter around.
Minister receiving bids. Where are the technos. Dora please advise.
Minister receiving bids. Where are the technos. ( ZPPA eg). Dora please advise.
These CCTV cameras are very useful because Fred Mmembe will soon be in bed with GBM and they need to be caught in the act.
@Analyser this is a useless comment and a waste of space.
The usefulness of surveillance technology in preventing and solving crimes depends on the resources put into it. They should combine with good street lighting and police patrol for it to be effective.
Research has shown that CCTV on their own do not reduce or prevent crime.
Oh, Sorry then!
In order to encourage investments, fix the roads, get rid of load shedding, reduce taxes then investors will come. What crime will this stop when cadres can brandish machetes in broad daylight and get caught on camera vandalising cars and nothing is done about it?
Well, going by the bloggers comments, it appears there may be other urgent issues like garbage collection but CCTV cameras are of paramount significance. Criminals evade them as they capture the whole scenario but useful only as evidence after the crime. They may be installed in a transparent way but more signficant issues may be prioritized first.
All those cameras will show are street vendors and street kids and the garbage they create in the so-called CBD
I suggest that the money be put to good use like constructing the chingola solwezi road and not that rubbish of putting cctv. The venture is expensive and will not mean well to the millions of suffering zambians. The idea is good but the time is critical, think twice ba chanda wesu. Revamp agriculture with that money or do something beneficial to the majority zambians.
dirty city, dirty ministers.
cholera needs to visit lusaka and that is the only time they will put an effort to clean up
With all the money involved, you don’t need CCTV in Lusaka at this moment. You need a clean Lusaka. The money can be used wisely and profitably to buy litter bins and garbage trucks. problem is that we only have MPs who like to go to the airport and they don’t think about what is best for the city which is now become a garbage city.
Thi is a GOOD move. Thumbs up GRZ
CNP government, we have just come out of rain season and what we saw around Kafue roundabout-poor drainage system in Lusaka. Set prioritis please. With all the dirty in Lusaka. PF brought this dirty in our cities. Levy managed it well. No wonder no PF leader is talking about KEEP LUSAKA CLEAN.
Thank God, I live in the rural part of Zambia where we breath clean fresh air.
Vote wisely in 2016.
I uggest the money be sued to buid low cost houses for the illegal squatters mushroming all over chinika area especially by mushe milling..
Lusaka has more pressing needs. Sanitation, housing, schools, children not in education, clean water, and shanty compounds, unskilled loafing youths roaming the streets.
care full scrutiny will show the 10% commission payed by the installer is what is driving this project.
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