Cape Town - The City of Cape Town has dismissed reports that it is using surveillance cameras to spy on residents.
Fears of Big Brother being able to zoom into residents’ homes and bedrooms were sparked after the City of Cape Town’s valuations team made a presentation to the Western Cape government last week.
It was reported that city officials had revealed that they could see every detail of residents’ houses with their surveillance technology. But Ian Neilson, mayoral committee member for finance, rubbished the reports that have emerged from the meeting, saying they are untrue.
“The cameras don’t zone in. Rather, they are mounted on airplanes and take aerial images of the outside of structures or buildings.” He said the images, captured with internationally accepted technology, were generally used for emergency responses, standard planning and valuation practices.
Neilson said the city had been using this technology since 2008.
“The City of Cape Town appreciates and protects our residents’ right to privacy.”
Oblique imagery captures shots of the front and sides of the exterior of buildings, making it possible to measure the area, distance, height and elevation of the structure from the aerial footage.
“These images are used worldwide by organisations such as local governments for emergency responses, planning and development. In the commercial sector, it is used by insurance, construction and utilities companies for calculating cost factors,” said Neilson.
Only city staff dealing with property valuations and planning can access the information.
Neilson added that all the city’s valuations staff were trained to be confidential and the system would be able to track if anyone tried to access the information. Valuers also take an oath on privacy of information.
Cape Argus