STREET MONITORING CAMERAS FOR MBABANE

MBABANE – The capital city will soon have internet protocol (IP) cameras, which will assist in monitoring and giving information on every movement within the central business district (CBD).

The cameras will be able to monitor traffic, among other things. It was revealed that 50 cameras will be installed in strategic areas. This has raised serious concerns of invasion of privacy by some stakeholders who wanted clarity on how the project would work. This was raised during the launch of the 5G government network and smart city (Mbabane) at Hilton Garden Inn yesterday.

Eswatini Communication Commission (ESCCOM) Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Mvilawempi Dlamini raised the issue of privacy with cameras installed everywhere. He said there was a need to strike a balance between the State’s security interests as well as peoples’ privacy. Dlamini said there was a need for agreements in some of the aspects, as the project was a good initiative. Dlamini said there needed to be discussions around the sharing of infrastructure to avoid having multiple poles, adding that there was a need to come up with standards for same.
Another concern which was raised by the stakeholders was fear of the project becoming a white elephant. They wanted clear information in terms of who would support the project financially once it has been implemented. The stakeholders made an example of the cameras along Malagwane Hill, which ended up failing.

Responding, Integrated International Systems Incorporation (IISI) Director International Division Jerry Wang said the challenges of the project down Malagwane were caused by cable theft, something which was a good lesson. Wang said with the current project, they would be using smaller cables, which are not of value and will be inside the poles and not hanging. He said the highest risk of the project was electricity provision. In terms of maintenance, he said the proposal was that government provide poles for the locations and the electricity, while Eswatini Post and Telecommunication Company (EPTC) would provide the internet, as that is their business.

Meanwhile, the Principal Secretary (PS) in the Ministry of Information, Communication and Technology (ICT) Phesheya Dube said the project implementation would enable the live transmission of data and information to various stakeholders, to enhance effective service delivery and security within the Mbabane Municipality.  Dube said the Ministry of ICT supported the project as it would transform the city of Mbabane to deliver smart services using smart technologies. He said the smart city project included IP cameras, free WIFI zones, message control centres , which was in line with the sustainable goal number 11, which sought to make cities inclusive, safe resilient and sustainable.

Infrastructure

Dube said the United Nations (UN) had also set a target for the cities to strive to become green and smart, adding that the ministry would be involved in setting up the smart city infrastructure and its maintenance, which would be achieved in collaboration with the Royal Science and Technology Park (RSTP) and EPTC. He said the operation would then be handed over to the Ministry of Housing and Urban Development.

Due to high costs of the maintenance of the 5G network and related infrastructure, the PS stated that they would like to encourage the Mbabane Municipality to explore ways of monetising the viable components of the services to interested parties. This, he said would go a long way in subsidising the maintenance. Dube said their dream was piloting the Mbabane Municipality and thereafter expanding the project to other cities including Ezulwini, Matsapha, Manzini, among others. He added that the ministry was keen on using the private project to understand the capability of the 5G networks and transmission of high volume of data at high speeds. Dube mentioned that to them as the ministry, the project was a learning curve and it is very important for the country since we were still at infant stages of implementing the 5G technology.

Furthermore, he encouraged stakeholders to play a key role to ensure that the project is a success. Dube also thanked the support from the Republic of China (Taiwan) and IISI who are the project implementers. RSTP Head of Data Services Dr Sandile Methula pledged support for the project, adding that His Majesty’s vision was anchored in the idea, which was crystal clear that the country should become a first world economy in the next few years. Methula said smart cities were also part of the first world vision. “Taiwan is a very good example and we have a number of similarities with them as we are both small and they happen to be twice the size of Eswatini and the only difference was the huge population which was 20 times ours.”

Technology

The head of Data Services stated that in terms of technology, Taiwan has moved forward and further thanked IISI for coming forward to assist. He said Eswatini, like any other African country, had a denominator, which is the young population and if talking about a smart city, it involved the collection of data every passing second and it was needed. Through the smart city idea, Methula said the country would be able to collect data on a daily basis. Adding that the data would be used as an engine to kick-start the start-ups, which were desperately needed in the country. He said the university had produced graduates who were unemployed who needed to establish businesses through start-ups.

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