By Nomphumelelo Khumalo
MBABANE – The capital city of Eswatini is set to undergo a major transformation in the next 18 months, as it becomes a ‘smart city.’
This transpired yesterday when the Ministry of Information, Communication and Technology (ICT) met with the Embassy of the Republic of China (Taiwan) and the Municipal Council of Mbabane to launch an initiative of transforming Mbabane to a smart city. The transformation is under the 5G Government Network and Smart City Development.
The three parties met at Hilton Garden Inn, Mbabane.
Ministry of ICT Principal Secretary (PS) Phesheya Dube hailed the project as a good one, stating that Mbabane would have significantly improved in the coming months.
Dube said this project would entice people to visit the city to take advantage of business opportunities, which would be availed by this development. He said this initiative was in line with His Majesty King Mswati III’s vision of transforming this country to attain a first world status.
“If the project works well in Mbabane, we hope the program will also be implemented to other towns,”
Meanwhile, Benedict Gamedze from the Municipal Council of Mbabane said as a Council, they were ready to implement this project. He said the staff of the city’s authority was ready to hit the ground running.
“We have already done the ground survey. We now know where the cameras will be installed. We have also identified the control room which will be used to segregate the program. What is left now is to hit the ground running” he said.
This publication has established that an investment of E36 million from Taiwan has been invested into this project. With this investment, the city will see the installation of 50 IP public cameras to improve security, as well as upgrades to its internet infrastructure to provide faster and more reliable connectivity.
According to Nord VPN, an Internet Protocol (IP) camera is a digital video camera that can transmit data over the internet or a local network. IP cameras are widely used in personal security systems because they allow users to monitor their homes or businesses remotely. They are also useful for traffic management and ensuring public safety.
Taiwan Embassy’s Jerry Wang expressed his enthusiasm for the smart city project, stating that the initiative positioned Mbabane as a leading city in the region, enhancing the quality of life for its residents.
“We are going to use the camera and also the video recognition base on the AI engine to identify the traffic or security issues for the citizens. And also use the AI panels to do the disaster mitigation so that we can use the system to predict where to provide warning for the disaster so that people have more time to be prepared,” said Wang.
The smart city project is expected to bring numerous benefits to Mbabane like improving public safety through enhanced security cameras and emergency response system and also better traffic management through real-time monitoring and smart traffic lights.
Wang reaffirmed Taiwan’s commitment to transforming Mbabane into a world-first class status city.
He highlighted the importance of investing in the technology and infrastructure as key factors in building a solid foundation for long-term economic growth and prosperity
The transformation of Mbabane into a smart city is predicted to be completed by the end of 2025, positioning the city as a model for other municipalities in the region.
