“Eye in the Sky” plane monitors incident in real time, providing intel to law enforcement agencies.
The City of Cape Town's controversial "Eye in the Sky" aerial surveillance project has officially come to an end after its R100 million contract was terminated due to non-compliance, according to Cape Argus.
This decision raises questions about the efficacy of the city's safety initiatives and the fiscal responsibility of taxpayer funds in securing public safety.
Over the course of the project, the technology reportedly cost taxpayers a staggering R16.3 million in a single year, adding weight to concerns about financial transparency and accountability. Furthermore, the City has disclosed that the ShotSpotter project, an acoustic gunshot detection system deployed in the Cape Flats area, will amount to nearly R30 million from 2022 through 2025, prompting calls for an examination of actual results from these initiatives.
In a statement made by Safety and Security Mayoral Committee Member, JP Smith, he clarified that the Eye in the Sky was operational from April 2024 to March 2025. “For the period in question, the cost of the technology, including training, operations, and storage, amounted to R16.3 million,” Smith stated. He referenced the high maintenance costs associated with keeping the surveillance plane airborne, which he estimated at R60,000 for each hour of flight time. However, Smith did not disclose how many hours the plane actually operated.
