Kenya: The long-suffering law abiding Nairobi motorist will soon heave a sigh of relief following the successful installation of Closed Circuit Television (CCTV) cameras at roundabouts and strategic locations within the Central Business District (CBD).
The Sh400 million project is unded by the World Bank and the gadgets will go live at the end of this month.
According to Nairobi City County Executive member-in-charge of roads, Evans Ondieki the cameras will capture a vehicle’s registration number and the face of the driver. This will mean that no traffic rules violators will be able to get away as many, particularly public service vehicles’ drivers have routinely done. At worst, those unlucky enough to be caught by a roving traffic police officer, have ended up greasing the officer’s palms with as little as Sh50.
The expectation now is that the new system will be managed so professionally that a traffic lawbreaker will be certain he will get caught and that he will be required to pay the requisite fine. It is this certainty that will bring down the incidences of law breaking.
But the expected benefits to be derived from the installation of CCTVs go beyond the taming of errant motorists. Hopes are high that they will take the rising incidences of pickpocketing and muggings along the city streets, particularly if the county government follows through with the installation of the promised street- lights.
These lights will be a boon to estate residents. Unfortunately, the process of lighting streets in many of these estates, especially in the poorer neigbour-hoods, were made hostage to corruption in the defunct city council. It would be imprudent to expect that a city that is facing as many challenges as Nairobi undoubtedly is, will spend money for a project that the private sector had enthusiastically taken up.
The hope, therefore, is that the new mandarins at City Hall will expeditiously dust off the proposals from private companies interested in street lighting and give them the contracts, of course, after conducting due diligence.
This would ensure that the county gives its residents what they want at no cost to itself. The money saved should then be used in areas crying out for help, including health and education.
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