Surveillance systems project must make country safer

At the time that security agencies have taken a lot of flak for the apparent lapses that have put many Kenyans in harm's way, it was comforting to see the much-awaited security deal between Safaricom and the Government getting signed on Tuesday.

Owing to inadequate staffing, low morale, scarce and ageing equipment, police officers have been unable to effectively secure most areas within major towns where crime has been on the upsurge lately. With the actualisation of the deal, it is expected the police will have no plausible excuse for failing to preempt crime and act where photographic evidence will be available.

Whether the signing of the deal was a choreographed PR strategy to assure an angry country impatient with runaway insecurity that all is well is neither here nor there. In any case, a CCTV network like the one to be rolled out by the telcom firm would not have stopped the Mandera attack that occurred on Saturday.

But it is one no less significant way in efforts to make Kenya safe. Other efforts will include reinforcing the immigration function to make it hard for the bad guys to get into the country in the first place.

Others will involve resetting the Nyumba Kumi Initiative and making it work in places where the cameras have no reach. Indeed, some would want to look at this as an advanced form of the Nyumba Kumi Initiative.

When it was announced that Safaricom had been awarded the tender to build a security system for the National Police Service, claims of single-sourcing raised fears that the award was not above board. This threatened to pull the plug from the project.

Consequently, Parliament's Committee on Administrative and National Security sought to scrutinise the tender award. It later gave the process a clean bill of health.

Tuesday's signing of the deal therefore allows Safaricom to build a digital police radio network, a centralised command operations centre, video surveillance system and fast internet connectivity for all police stations in the country.

With this in place, the police will monitor activities on the streets of Mombasa and Nairobi in real time. This will enable them to respond to emergencies fast, with precision and, hopefully, prompt action.

With the state of policing under strain, it is hoped that what the humans could not do, technology will help them do it, and better.

After spending Sh15 billion on the project, Kenyans must get value for their money. Far from an insecure country being a turn-off to investors, a citizenry that goes to bed worrying about their security and that of their loved ones will have little time to think about development. Insecurity hampers  development.

So this project must succeed by all means.

There are many examples of taxpayer-funded Government projects that never served the purpose they were intended. For example, this must not go the way of the traffic lights in Nairobi or the Uhuru Highway Beautification project, which served no purpose even after millions was spent on them.

Clearly, Safaricom is a market leader in Information and Communication Technology in the region, which gives it an edge. The company is up to the task of meeting deadlines, besides giving quality results. Given its sound financial base, there is hope the project will not stall midway and thereby heighten the sense of helplessness in the face of mounting security challenges in the country.