In this interview with BizNews, the Gauteng MEC for e-Government, Bonginkosi Dhlamini, highlights recent achievements in crime-fighting over the first 100 days in office. He describes how the use of innovative technology – including a vast network of CCTV cameras – is shaping safer communities by tracking suspicious activity and vehicles. He also gives details of the e-Government Panic Button initiative in which a physical button is given to the elderly who then download the App on their smartphones. “The app allows users to trigger an alarm with the touch of a button, sending real GPS coordinates to emergency responders for a faster and more efficient response. This initiative aims to…improve public safety and provide an accessible tool to residents to protect themselves in high-risk situations.”
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Extended transcript of the interview
Chris Steyn (00:01.915)
Crime fighting in Gauteng. We speak to the MEC for e-government, Mr. Bonginkosi Dhlamini. Welcome, Sir
MEC Dhlamini (00:09.751)
Welcome and thank you very much to your listeners and your viewers.
Chris Steyn (00:14.811)
So what have been the biggest achievements in crime fighting over the first 100 days in office?
MEC Dhlamini (00:23.938)
Well, previously, our time response was between 18 and 30 minutes, and it has now been brought to about 5 to 10 minutes. One significant achievement is the reduction in response times to incidents of crime due to the real response times to incidents of crime, due to real-time monitoring enabled by the cameras. The local law enforcement can act swiftly when a crime is detected, reducing the window in which perpetrators can escape or harm others.
In the 100 days we have seen the reduction of crime, more especially in areas where we are monitoring with our CCTV cameras.
Chris Steyn (01:06.033)
I wanted to ask you how has the use of innovative technology made communities safer?
MEC Dhlamini (01:15.598)
It has worked a lot because through our partnership with Vumacam we have been able to access about more than 6,000 cameras with our own 380 cameras. Therefore we are surveilling a lot of areas.
So it has been a success because we have been able to in the 100 days to make 104 arrests and convictions. We have been able to track 270 cars. We have been able to recover, impound and recover cars that are more than 300.
Therefore, it is really working. Those have been big successes and we’ve also been able to detect and arrest those people who are stealing our cables.
So in the hundred days we’ve seen the impact of technology in fighting crime as I’m giving you the stats of just these hundred days.
Chris Steyn (02:10.278)
So those are the success statistics. Thank you. Are there some success stories you would like to share with us, please?
MEC Dhlamini (02:19.854)
I mean, the success stories I said that we have had to date 171 arrests, 370. I mean…impounded, … duplicate number plates. We have been able to, first one’s response time down from 8 to 30% to 5%. And we have been able to dispatch 5,764 law enforcement dispatchers through the data that we get.
Chris Steyn (02:47.537)
Can you please tell us about the e-Gov panic button initiative?
MEC Dhlamini (02:52.29)
The e-button initiative is the initiative where there is a physical button that we give to the elderly and you download the App in your smartphone. When you are in distress, you just press the button. In five seconds, they will be able to contact you and say what kind of distress are you in, if it needs security or it needs medical attention.
So the e-button works on that interceptive feature developed by the provincial government to enhance personal security for residents of Gauteng.
It is a smartphone App designed to allow users to instantly send an alert to local authorities and security services in case of emergency such as a crime or health emergency.
The app allows users to trigger an alarm with the touch of a button, sending a real GPS coordinates to emergency responders for a faster and more efficient response. This initiative aims to reduce response time, emergencies, improve public safety and provide an accessible tool to residents to protect themselves in high-risk situations.
Chris Steyn (04:01.487)
What other initiatives are in the pipeline, MEC?
MEC Dhlamini (04:06.998)
Well, apart from the CCTV, your e-panic button, we are also introducing the drones as part of fighting crime because you know that there are areas that are not accessible because of roads and so forth. So we are also introducing the drones. Those are the things that are in the pipeline to help use technology to fight crime.
And also we are also working as government to make sure that Gauteng becomes a cashless provimnce so that we are able to reduce even your car heists and so forth.
Chris Steyn (04:45.517)
And so when can we see CCTV camera networks in the townships and in areas where people are most vulnerable?
MEC Dhlamini (04:54.062)
As I said to you, this financial year we will be rollilng out about 80, I mean 180. It has started, more especially in your hostels, your Jeppe, George Koch and Denver, and other informal settlements. In all the five corridors, we are starting to roll out these cameras into the TISH areas.
Chris Steyn (05:20.783)
Now, how has the number plate recognition function of these cameras helped in the fight against crime?
MEC Dhlamini (05:29.422)
Yes, they have helped a lot because that is why we said we have be able to impound more than 300 cars because of duplicate of number plates because we are able to see this car is the same number plate and another car the same number plate then we are able to let that car to be a car of interest then we dispatch our law enforcement agencies to follow those cars and so it helps a lot in tracking cars of interest where they duplicate registration numbers.
Chris Steyn (06:04.837)
No, I understand lives have been saved as well because the cameras can detect smoke early in a building and you know in a city where many lives have been lost in building fires.
MEC Dhlamini (06:16.532)
Yes, of course. It has saved a lot of lives in the CBD more especially in Johannesburg, where there was… the camera is able to detect the smoke and it’s able to feed back to the command centre. The command centre will be able to send in your emergency services to be able to see what’s the kind of smoke.
Apart from really saying…giving us crime scenes and cars and so forth, it’s also able to save lives by detecting the smoke and we were able to dispatch the emergency services.
Chris Steyn (06:53.659)
Thank you very much. That was Gauteng Provincial Government, MEC for e-government. Mr. Dlhamini speaking to BizNews and I am Chris Steyn. Thank you,
MEC Dhlamini (07:03.428)
Thank you very much, Mam.
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