Cairo Governor : All Shops in Cairo Must Install Surveillance Cameras

A police CCTV camera observes a bypassing woman

Cairo’s governor has introduced new regulations making it mandatory for all retail stores to install surveillance systems.

governor Galal Saeed announced that no licenses would be renewed for retail stores until they install the surveillance systems. Moreover, new retail licenses will only be issued to stores that install surveillance cameras.

The move is part of a series of endeavors to enhance security levels nationwide, said the governor.

Earlier this month, Egypt’s Minister of Religious Endowments announced the installation of surveillance cameras at mosques across Egypt. 

the cameras will first be installed at key mosques in Cairo before being installed in other mosques across Egypt.

According to Mohamed Mokhtar Gomaa, the Minister of Religious Endowments, the CCTV cameras will be installed in an effort to protect mosques from terrorist attacks and to control “extremist” ideology. The Minister added that the cameras will ensure that the mosques sermons are monitored to ensure no extremist sermons are delivered.

Both announcements by the Ministry of Religious Endowments and Cairo’s governor come several months after Egypt’s Prime Minister Ibrahim Mehleb declared the creation of a national committee for camera surveillance.

Building on previously installed surveillance networks such as those in Upper Egypt’s Minya which have been activated for traffic control purposes, new surveillance cameras will be installed to secure vital buildings, roads, squares, neighbourhoods and various structures. Progress on this national initiative remains unclear.

Egypt has faced a wave of terror attacks since the ouster of former Mohammed Morsi in July 2013. According to the National Council for Human Rights, 700 security personnel were killed between June 2013 and December 2014. However, the majority of the attacks are often carried out by militants in Egypt’s restive North Sinai region.