JRA appeal impacts citizens’ rights to safety and security

Something stinks in the legal spat brewing between the Joburg Roads Agency (JRA)and Vumacam. Vumacam approached the court with an urgent application to declare JRA’s decision to suspend aerial and CCTV wayleave applications unlawful and invalid, and set it aside. Vumacam was informed recently of the JRA’s decision to appeal a High Court ruling made against it on 20 August 2020 in which Judge Bashir Vally ruled that “the decision to suspend the consideration of aerial and CCTV wayleave applications is declared to be unlawful and invalid”. While the JRA stated concerns around privacy being the reason that wayleaves should be halted, the judge noted that “there is no dispute that Vumacam complies with the legislative prescripts set out in the Protection of Personal Information Act of 2013 (POPIA) insofar as protecting an individual’s privacy rights are concerned”. The Judge directed the JRA to proceed with the consideration and determination of aerial and CCTV applications within seven days of the order and provide reasons to Vumacam “if the applications are, or if any individual one is, refused”. Michael Avery spoke to Vumacam CE, Ricky Croock, who said: “This appeal directly impacts the rollout of cameras and infrastructure to provide critical surveillance support to SAPS, JMPD and private security companies in their crime fighting efforts.”