(Oranjestad)—During a press conference yesterday morning, Minister of Justice, Rocco Tjon, along with Minister of Energy, Glenbert Croes, and Mr. Albertico “Tico” Koolman, manager of Elmar N.V., announced an important project to ensure better security during carnaval parades this year.
Minister Tjon expressed that this was the first time that the Ministry of Justice is implementing a project of this nature, and that is also the first time they will do this in collaboration with Aruba’s national energy company, Elmar N.V., so that the installations of cameras would be successful.
He also ensured that this project would not be possible with help from one ministry, so he thanked Minister Croes for his collaboration and contribution to the project.
Minister Tjon explained that this is a pilot project executed in different phases. The first phase has already been completed and work for the second phase is already on its way.
The first phase was executed together with the telecommunication company Setar N.V., where orders for phase 2 and 3 were approved last Tuesday. Phase 2 will include the installation of security cameras around the hotel area hot zones. Security camera installations in San Nicolas have already been approved as well.
In the signed orders, it states that there will be 24 cameras installed in the streets of San Nicolas that connect with the main road. Additionally, 28 cameras will be installed in the hot zones.
After evaluations, this project will move on to its fourth phase, which includes the public roads in Aruba.
Mr. Koolman of Elmar N.V. ensured that they are happy to be a part of this project as he shares how they started implementing LED lights a few years back, and that they are now busy with implementing sensors for the cameras without changing the already existing infrastructure. This will provide better security for both the Aruban community and tourists, during traffic or public events.
“We are sure, we are done with the second phase where lights and cameras will be placed in order for this to contribute to the security of Aruba,” he said.
Minister Glenbert expressed that during the carnaval period, they want the community to enjoy the parades safely, without things going off the rails. If this may still occur though, the cameras will provide the police force to work more efficiently and faster: “Obviously, I’m here to highlight that as a community, we appreciate the Minister of Justice’s vision, and we thank Elmar and other utility companies for their cooperation. The government is willing to go the extra mile to provide support to our community.”
Minister Tjon also mentioned that this project is a temporary one, which will only be used for the carnaval routes to elevate security during the festivities: “the law gives us space to use this during certain period and at certain locations. For now, the cameras will stay and so will those in San Nicolas. In the next phase we hope to work with Setar to gather necessary information to provide cameras for the entire down town area,” he ensured.
