The Organisation Undoing Tax Abuse (OUTA) has welcomed the City of Johannesburg’s (COJ’s) decision to repeal a recently introduced by-law regulating privately-owned closed-circuit television (CCTV) cameras.
The by-law, approved in February, sought to regulate and register CCTV cameras installed on private property with a view of public spaces.
However, it drew criticism from CCTV operators, the South African Property Owners Association and OUTA, which filed court papers challenging the measure in July.
The organisations warned the city that the by-law infringed on residents’ rights and added red tape without improving public safety.
Vumacam, a camera technology provider, also objected to key provisions of the by-law. In March, the company said it had offered legally-grounded input on critical aspects of the draft, but these were not reflected in the final version — raising concerns over the impact on private CCTV users and security operations.
This week, City Press reported that the Johannesburg city council confirmed the repeal of the by-law during a sitting on Tuesday.
COJ had not provided ITWeb with a statement by the time of publication.
In a statement yesterday, OUTA says the by-law would have forced property owners who installed private CCTV cameras to register with the metro police and pay annual fees, effectively taxing law-abiding residents for protecting their own safety.
OUTA says it will not proceed with its legal action but will seek costs, formalised as an order of court, as the city chose to fight instead of heeding calls to repeal earlier.
“Repealing this by-law is a victory for common sense. It was never about public safety – it was about squeezing law-abiding residents for more money,” says advocate Stefanie Fick, OUTA’s executive director of accountability.
“It should not take a court case to force the city to do the right thing. Leaders should listen to their residents before passing laws that make life harder.”
The civic organisation notes the city council would serve residents far better by focusing on fixing decaying infrastructure and service delivery, rather than dreaming up new ways to extract money from people already burdened by high rates and failing services.
“Why this by-law was passed in the first place remains a mystery: was it incompetence, arrogance in thinking residents wouldn’t notice, or a desperate attempt to raise funds? Either way, it highlights the need for better leadership – leaders who put Joburg residents ahead of their own pockets,” says Fick.
According to the organisation, this outcome is a reminder that civil society plays a critical role in holding government to account when governance fails.
“Bye-bye by-law. Now, City of Joburg, how about fixing the water crisis, the broken traffic lights and the potholes instead?” says Fick.
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