Update

GEORGE NEWS - AfriForum has submitted a formal application under the Promotion of Access to Information Act (PAIA) to obtain information about George Municipality’s decision to withdraw certain previously authorised safety stakeholders’ access to the National Vehicle Intelligence Cloud (Navic) camera monitoring system on 21 September.

The application, submitted on Thursday 29 October, follows weeks of controversy over the restrictions and AfriForum’s unsuccessful attempts to engage with the municipality.

Attempts to engage

According to AfriForum, acting municipal manager Dr Dean O’Neill indicated in writing on 7 October that the municipality was unwilling to meet with the organisation.

AfriForum subsequently approached Mayor Browen Johnson on 21 October, requesting urgent intervention and a meeting.

On 23 October, Johnson confirmed to George Herald that he had received the correspondence. “I will respond directly to AfriForum in due course, following the appropriate internal processes,” he said.

However, AfriForum stated on 29 October that it had not received a substantive response. “We have tried from the outset to resolve this matter through dialogue. The municipality refused to meet with us, and our formal correspondence to the mayor remains unanswered,” said its Southern Cape district co-ordinator, Marthinus Erasmus.

Documents and answers sought

Through its PAIA application, AfriForum is seeking the formal decision, resolution or instruction authorising the withdrawal of access, together with the reasons, recommendations and risk assessments supporting it.

It also wants documentation identifying any problems, shortcomings or security risks that prompted the municipality to terminate the existing access in the first place.

The organisation is requesting records of consultations, meetings or correspondence with affected safety stakeholders before the decision was taken, or documentation explaining why prior consultation did not occur.

AfriForum also seeks the policies and procedures governing the new verification process, including its purpose, justification, eligibility requirements and expected timeframes for processing applications.

According to AfriForum, the restrictions hamper co-operation between neighbourhood watches, farm watches and other safety organisations in monitoring suspicious vehicles and co-ordinating responses to criminal activity.

To illustrate its concerns, AfriForum cited a hypothetical situation in which a suspicious vehicle is tracked towards George, but effectively disappears from the broader safety network’s radar because previously authorised operators can no longer monitor its movements.

“We are not asking the municipality to relinquish control over its infrastructure. We are asking why an existing safety capability was cut off without proper consultation, what informed that decision and why the municipality is unwilling to discuss it with established safety stakeholders,” Erasmus said.

Municipality responds

In an earlier response on 23 September, George Municipality’s director of community safety and mobility, Lee-Anne Meiring, said the municipality could not disclose operational or security-sensitive information about its systems, as this could compromise investigations or public safety.

She said the municipality continued working closely with police and other relevant safety and security stakeholders to support crime prevention and public safety in George.

Responding to George Herald’s latest enquiry, O’Neill said: “The PAIA application will be dealt with in accordance with its processes and requirements. The municipality will not comment further on the application or its processes through the media.”

The municipality did not directly address questions about consultation, the reasons for withdrawing access or progress with the new verification process.

AfriForum said it would assess the information obtained through PAIA to determine whether the safety implications had been adequately considered and what further steps might be necessary.

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