Pattaya ends ugly, year-long fight over CCTV cameras with new rental contract

July 14, 2022

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The city council approved a three-year deal worth 136.8 million baht to hire an outside contractor for rental and maintenance of cameras to be installed in 940 places to aid crime-solving.

Nearly a year after the Pattaya City Council collapsed after an acrimonious fight over a CCTV contract, the city’s newly elected leaders agreed to pay more than 136 million baht to rent cameras.

At its July 11 meeting, the city council approved a three-year deal worth 136.8 million baht to hire an outside contractor for rental and maintenance of cameras to be installed in 940 places to aid crime-solving.

The council vote brings to a close, for now, to a long-running battle over closed-circuit television cameras that caused half of the previous council to resign in August last year.

Then-council Chairman Anan Angkanawisai announced the dissolution of the panel Aug. 13 following the resignations of Wasan Naowniew, Chakorn Kanjawattana, Saksit Yaemsri and Choluek Chotekamjorn who comprised half of the eight remaining members of the council, which originally had 12 members appointed by the previous junta in 2016. With fewer than the six required members, the council was automatically dissolved.

Pattaya streets will be safer now that 940 ‘working’ security cameras will be rented and maintained by a private firm and installed around town.

Poramet’s predecessor, Sonthaya Kunplome, implied at the time that the controversy was fueled by the unusual actions of Anan, who pushed vigorously for a 200-million-baht payment to an undisclosed company for the same 940 cameras, but only for one year.

Sonthaya said Wasan, Chakorn, Saksit and Choluek – all of whom previously held high administrative officers or worked in the legal system – objected. But Anan pressed on, putting the matter to a secret-ballot vote. The four men objected again, saying the council bylaws only allow secret ballots on matters pertaining to the monarchy.

Anan over-rode the objections, but the vote failed 4-4. Then the chairman set aside the vote, putting it on the agenda again for Aug. 13. The four men resigned amid the stench of corruption.

Pattaya Mayor Poramet Ngampiches suggested that the city rent the security cameras from a private company which was unanimously approved by the City Council.

Pattaya’s history with CCTV cameras has been disastrous, with the city spending more than a billion baht over the past decade or so on cameras they fail to maintain, leaving the city’s security system in such poor repair that city and regional police publicly condemned city hall and even offered to pay for new ones.

With the new rental contract, Pattaya’s crack engineers no longer will be tasked with doing what they’ve proven time and time again they’re incapable of: maintenance.