Chinese Government provides $100 million grant for CCTV Installation Project

In May 2012, the Government of Kenya reportedly received a Chinese Government grant worth $100 million (8.5 billion Kenyan shillings) for installation of closed-circuit television (CCTV) cameras in major cities and towns around the country. Kenyan Prime Minister Raila Odinga told Kenya's parliament on May 24, 2012, that the government will soon be installing the CCTV cameras across the country, starting with the capital Nairobi, and then Mombasa and Kisumu, and other cities. He said the goal of the project is to stop terrorism and improve security.The Chinese company Nanjing Les Information Technology won the contract for a portion of the project that included installing and integrating the urban surveillance system in Nairobi. According to the company, the work on the project was halfway complete in June 2013 and would be completed by September 2013. When finished, the system will include 42 cameras within the Nairobi Central Business District which will be used to decongest traffic and protect security.

Additional details

1. The monetary value of the grant commitment seems high, given the nature of the project that it purportedly financed. This issue merits further investigation. 2. In March 2013, the Government of Kenya proposed the use of CCTV cameras in fighting crime and in May 2014 contracted Safaricom Limited – the leading telecom service provider in Kenya – to build the Integrated Public Safety Communication and Surveillance System (IPSCSS). The IPSCSS was to result in the installation of 1,800 CCTV cameras with face and motor vehicle number plate recognition capabilities in strategic locations in Kenya’s two big cities of Mombasa and Nairobi; setting up a command and control centre where footage from the CCTV cameras and handheld devices will be relayed in real time; a video conferencing system; connecting 195 police stations with high-speed internet; the development of a 4G LTE 18 network for the police with 80 base stations; supplying the police with 7,600 radio communication devices with SIM cards and photo and video capability; and linking 600 police vehicles to the command and control centre. The project was expected to cost 14.9 billion shillings (USD 169.6 million). In 2014, Huawei, along with Safaricom, installed 1,800 CCTV cameras across downtown Nairobi as part of its "Safe City" program. It is unclear if the $100 million grant helped to finance this project. This issue merits further investigation.

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