The installation of Closed Circuit Television (CCTV) cameras should conclude this month but the availability of reliable back-up power from the Guyana Power and Light could be a problem, Dr. Roger Luncheon said yesterday.
Responding to questions following a post-Cabinet press briefing Dr. Luncheon, the Head of the Presidential Secretariat said that “the contributions of GPL in providing back-up power to make it reliable has not been 100% responsive”.
He said that at the moment there are about nine or ten sites out of 43 where “we don’t have the power and we are highly appreciative of what GPL has done but we are urging them to fast-track the back-up power so that indeed all 43 sites would be on the network and the CCTV project could be officially commissioned”.
Dr. Luncheon when asked if the National Intelligence Centre where the cameras will be linked is fully staffed and equipped said “everything is there. Equipment, all the networking…” He said that the thing that is keeping them back was the powering of the sites.
He further added “Well I can’t tell you the secret but we have cameras watching cameras and we have people watching cameras and of course we are hoping for the best that Guyanese will act responsibly with the CCTV”, when asked if measures are in place to prevent abuse of the equipment.
According to him the project is a tremendous investment, in terms of money spent and the material input out of which benefits will occur.
Back in May he had announced that the cameras would likely be installed at points across the city during July-August.
He explained that the plan has been put into effect for the linking of the cameras to the monitoring stations that would be established at the Headquarters of the National Intelligence Centre.
Luncheon added that the CCTV cameras will cover places like banks, gas stations, locations where people congregate and the transportation hubs like car parks and bus parks and such like. He said that the anticipation is that the cameras will have a significant impact.
Its installation has been met with mixed reaction. Some see this move as an excellent one since it could assist the police with catching traffic offenders and deterring criminal activity while others such as the APNU presidential candidate David Granger are concerned about monitoring, maintenance and the proper storage of data recorded.
