Defence committee dismisses Police’s Shs 26 billion request
The Defence and Internal Affairs Committee of parliament has called for a comprehensive review on the entire CCTV project before releasing any funds for maintenance or upgrade.
This development comes as the Uganda Police requires Shillings 187 billion to implement Phase III of the CCTV project for the Kampala Metropolitan Area and another 26 billion supplementary budget for the maintenance of CCTV cameras countrywide.
Legislators on the committee chaired by Rosemary Nyakikongoro challenged the police force for not properly exploiting the use of the available CCTV besides cameras being non functional.
There was concern from MPs that the force is not effective in producing video footage to show criminals, citing an example where its own officer was recently killed by assailants near a security camera. The chairperson stated that the security camera project has largely not met the expectations of Ugandans
The committee that interfaced with various security agencies led by the Minister of State for Internal Affairs Gen. David Muhoozi on Tuesday expressed concern over the quality and non-functionality of some of security cameras, calling for a comprehensive review of the entire CCTV project.
The lawmakers proceeded to reject a Shillings 26 billion supplementary budget request by the Police Force to fund the maintenance of CCTV cameras in the country.
However, Yusuf Sewanyana, the Acting Director of ICT in the Police, explained that the quality of the footage and longevity of the installed cameras are usually affected by the weather, thus requiring periodic maintenance.
Defence committee dismisses Police’s Shs 26 billion request
In the Financial Year 2023/2024, the Police has been allocated Shillings 830.6 billion against a revised budget of Shillings 975.4 billion in the current 2022/2023 Financial Year.
