Note to Editors: Please find an English soundbite by Cllr Belinda Kayser-Echeozonjoku here
The ANC-ActionSA-EFF-PA coalition in Johannesburg has quietly passed a by-law that aims to effectively expropriate and control residents’ personal CCTV cameras. The Democratic Alliance (DA) in Johannesburg strongly opposed this motion in Council, warning that it represents an alarming overreach by a failing government.
This by-law is nothing more than an attempt to strengthen a failing government’s control, with unknown levels of overreach.
It introduces a complex and costly registration process that will impact homeowners, businesses, and community policing forums that have installed CCTV cameras to protect their properties and public spaces.
Instead of working with them, Johannesburg aims to take to control of what’s not theirs.
As per the bylaw:
- All CCTV cameras, even those on private property, that have a view of a public space, like a road, must be registered with the City, and comply with the City’s guidelines in terms of their look and construction;
- The City has granted itself the authority to set tariffs for applications, renewals, and fines without transparency or oversight;
- Residents and businesses alike must register their CCTV cameras that have a view of a public space with the City of Johannesburg, and finally to quote the by-law itself;
- “no data or information collected through a CCTV camera shall be disclosed or shared with any person not authorised to have access to such data” and that “all CCTV camera footage or imagery of captured criminal incidents that require further investigation, shall be kept confidential…”
Imagine that, a crime ridden City, that can’t even provide basic service delivery, or fix a leak, wants to add another admin-intensive application and registration process to their arsenal of already failing initiatives.
Worse still, the by-law allows the City to remove cameras deemed “illegal” and charge the owner for the cost of removal, further penalising those who are taking proactive steps to protect themselves against rising crime.
Residents and businesses already struggling with high municipal bills now face the possibility of being charged simply for having CCTV cameras in place.
This is nothing more than a hidden tax on safety and security, disguised as regulation.
The deeply flawed public participation process has made matters even worse. The City has failed to properly engage with affected stakeholders, or even inform elected public representatives that the process was happening, instead they opted to push this by-law through Council without meaningful consultation with residents, businesses, security companies, and community policing forums.
A by-law with such wide-reaching implications cannot and must not be passed without thorough public scrutiny, yet the City has failed to conduct proper information sessions in person, or make the financial impact of this regulation clear.
This is an attack on personal freedoms, and we will do everything we can to protect Johannesburg from this misguided attempt at government overreach.