Algerian authorities spent staggering sums in importing surveillance cameras
The Algerian security authorities will activate nearly 3000 surveillance cameras countrywide in the upcoming few days, putting thus the biggest cities under scrutiny 24/7.
- If some hailed the move and consider it as another means to assure security in the country; others regard it as breach to the right of privacy. Echourok has carried out a through investigation on the inns and outs of the issue including the overall coast of the operation and collected the Algerian citizens’ reactions concerning these cameras.
- Some 50 companies specialized in the selling and the setting up of surveillance cameras and fire alarms in different companies and private houses. But the latest instruction issued by the interior ministry obliges citizens to get permission form the local authorities to set up a camera at home or at his working place limiting thus the operation to official buildings.
- The first cameras were set up in Algeria in 1995 and were limited to the official buildings, big hotels and economic companies with the aim to assure their security nd foil terrorist attacks at the time.
- Cameras imported from 37 countries
- Estimates released by the National Office of Statistics have revealed that the Algerian authorities have imported for more than 2.32 billion Algerian Dinars of cameras over the last 09 months.
- Several countries have supplied Algeria with different types of cameras including, China, Italy, Great Britain, the United States and Japan. Recently the interior ministry has imported surveillance cameras from Japan and assigned the task of setting them up across different corners of the capital city by Japanese engineers on account of their specificities. Algeria has imported from China nearly 3 million Euros over this year.
- The Algerian authorities have selected 37 countries to import the cameras in addition to the European Union ones mostly from Asia. But some countries are relatively inexperienced in this type of technology including North Korea, Porto Rico and Tajikistan.
- These cameras have affected some companies’ outcome including the Algerian pharmaceutical giant “Saidal” which witnessed its production increased to 90% after being at 30% of its full capacity soon after the setting up of the cameras inside the company’s facilities. This noticeable difference is due to the fact that the employees were regularly stealing big quantities of medicines.
- Reliable sources have revealed that 35% of the cameras are out of order and were not replaced or repaired by their owners because nobody knows that they are haywire. These modern stingy individuals try to lure strangers even if those cameras are not functioning.