Opposition chides gov't for not maintaining JamaicaEye cameras

By Prince Moore    

 

The Parliamentary Opposition has blasted the government for the lack of maintenance which led to the malfunctioning of a significant number of JamaicaEye closed-circuit television cameras, in towns across Jamaica.

 

National Security Minister Dr. Horace Chang has admitted that a significant number of the cameras are out of service due to a technical issue with maintaining the surveillance network.

 

Opposition Spokesman on National Security Senator Peter Bunting says he is not surprised by this revelation.

 

"This is emblematic of a larger problem with this JLP administration. They are big on announcements but poor on execution and ongoing maintenance. Frankly, all these systems need routine maintenance, replacement of malfunctioning elements, and periodic upgrades of the whole system. However, it is harder to eat a food from that type of ongoing maintenance expenditure relative to the larger initial capital outlays, which provides lots of opportunity for kickbacks," he argued. 

 

Last Saturday, 28-year-old Shemar Bryan was fatally stabbed in Santa Cruz, St. Elizabeth, under a CCTV camera, which failed to capture the incident because it was malfunctioning.

 

Speaking at Wednesday's New Market Business Community meeting in St. Elizabeth, Dr. Chang said most of the 75 CCTV cameras in Santa Cruz are down.

 

Senator Bunting said the issue is of concern given the need for the cameras to assist the police in crime fighting.   

 

"It is regrettable that the evidence that could have been provided by the camera in Santa Cruz, which covered the area where 28-year-old Shemar Bryan was fatally stabbed, does not provide any evidence to the police in this case," he lamented.