JP Smith’s “Eye in the Sky” aerial surveillance project has been cancelled after its R100m contract was terminated over non-compliance.
The ‘Exclusive’ article ‘Shock as JP Smith’s grand Eye in the Sky project canned’ published on Tuesday, June 16, 2026 refers.
Firstly, this was not JP Smith’s project – it was a Safety and Security Directorate undertaking, and one of many innovative tech solutions that have been onboarded in the fight against crime.
Unfortunately, as there was only one bidder, the contract was terminated in August 2025 when their joint venture failed.
As a responsible administration, the City identified that there was some risk to this innovation, especially in an urban environment, and so the contract was structured to specifically mitigate against financial risk. To be clear – there has been no financial impact on the City - the impact has been the loss of the benefits that the technology was expected to provide in the fight against crime.
