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Local Government e-Participation

PPP Indaba Gauteng Legislature

Stefan StautnerPresentation by SALGA / GIZ

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Purpose of the Study

• “…to identify the potential for strengthening public participation and social accountability in South African local governance through the use of ICT’s, in the form of e-Inclusion and e-Participation and e-Government programmes.“

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Governance Context

The Policy FrameworkMunicipality

VoteVote

Policy formulationPolicy formulationService DeliveryService Delivery

Public

Collaborative (Organised) Local Development

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The Status Quo

• Auditor General – little transparency / accountability around finance

• Low trust by citizens• Persistent corruption despite successive programmes to

combat it• Patronage & nepotism undermine services & efficiency

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Local Government Turnaround Strategy

• Implement a new ward committee governance model;

• good citizenship campaign to “unite the nation”; • mobilise public involvement in local

development.

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Key Trends• E-Inclusion• Infomediaries• Interaction tests DEPTH of citizenship• Social Media (Twitter, Facebook, MixIt)• Citizens more equal• Governments more responsive• ICT’s driving Gov maturation

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People are getting connected, where is 

government?

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Potential Case Studies in ICT Usage• Social Media: Langeberg Local Municipality (Facebook to reach

citizens by creating a Facebook City Pages). Others include City of Johannesburg, Grahamstown and Durban.

• Two way SMS platforms - eMakhazeni• Smart transportation systems - Nelson Mandela Bay Metro • Open source software - eThekweni Metro: use of to run websites &

Voip to reduce telephone costs• Document Information Management Systems - uThungulu

District Municipality (KZN) –could allow ward committees to track project progress in their areas

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Select Findings – Case Studies• Unevenness in ICT usage – competence mainly in

metros & DMs• Community participation functions are rarely ICT enabled• Wariness amongst managers of using ICTs for

accountability / transparency – seen as a political function

• Some existing internal e-government functions could be easily enriched with eParticipation elements

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Select Findings – Case Studies• ICTs are a productive focus for shared services –

economies of scale, core expertise etc – may include mentor & support relations

• Communication, public participation and IT functions are not always integrated and coordinated for the best impact on public participation and accountability.

• ICT resource and infrastructure deployments tend to favour communication, branding and public relations functions at the expense of participation and transparency.

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Recommendations & Model/s

Basic ICT Maturity (e‐government)

Medium ICT Maturity with start‐up e‐governance

High ICT Maturity with advanced e‐

governance

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Following a Maturity Model approach

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Basic ICT Maturity (e-government) -Short to Medium Term • Register for SMS alerts of council meetings,

standing committees, IDP representative forums etc

• ICT enabled customer satisfaction surveys (website, sms, call centre)

• ICT enabled services at Multi-purpose Resource (Thusong) Centres

• Provision for online payment of taxes, utilities, vehicle licenses, permits etc – can be through a third party facility such as Easypay

• Call centres – mainly for service issues / account queries

• Full contact details for ward councillorspublished on internet

• Provision of all information as required by MSA and MFMA on website

• On-line newsletter – can be an e-version of hard copy newsletter

• Making provision for key staff to use social media to enrich work content and access external expertise

• User-friendly searchable data base on web of key policies, minutes and by-laws arranged by most relevance for service users

• Creation of a Facebook municipal page and use for public engagement on municipal issues

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Medium ICT Maturity with start‐up e‐governance (Med to Long Term)• Logging key concerns / issues per ward to

free sms number / website

• Internet-based ward profiles & data inclimages

• Registration of interested parties via web or email for input on key components e.g. spatial frameworks, land use plans etc

• Provision for electronic input into IDP e.g. email, SMS or other link

• Email register of key interest groups / advocacy bodies by topic – targeted feedback on draft by-laws, policies etc

• Website facility for public comments / feedback on draft by-laws, policies etc

• Provision of high level user services such as CCTV traffic flow patterns and water quality info from beaches to website or mobile

• Use of rural hubs at schools, clinics etc to provide identity of traditional chief for the area, focus of recent consultations, projects scheduled for area & priorities

• Email updates to registered subscribers during times of municipal crisis e.g. budget / cash flow crisis

• Page on website summarising results of performance assessment from Annual Report

• On-line provision for receiving registering & acknowledging petitions and complaints

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High ICT Maturity with advanced e‐governance(Long term)• Bi-annual SMS polls on performance of

ward councilors

• Monitoring of ward projects via website link to key documents on intranet / municipal data bases

• Wiki facilitated joint drafting of by-laws or policies by expert panels / interest groups

• Electronic drafts of annual Report circulated to registered interest groups / CSOs for comment prior to publication

• Identify and register particular ‘infomediaries’ for particular wards to facilitate on-line needs analysis / service prioritisation for ward / community based planning

• General use of chat rooms, Wikis, mixit or other social media platforms to generate discussion on key topics

• On-line feedback to municipal departments via website, sms, call centre, mixit or email –specific emails for different business units / line departments can be created

• Conduct on-line polls on key LG issues e.g. re-naming suburbs and streets

• Install webcams at council meetings enabling those who reside far away to watch proceedings at a municipal library. School children could also watch these meetings as part of the Life Orientation curriculum.

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m-participation pilot project in Greater Tzaneen Municipality

GTM• Population: 500 000, 80% 

rural, 125 villages• Large youth population (¾ 

under 35)• Current PP mechanisms incl. 

ward committees, ward meetings, izimbizo, events

=> Geographical, capacity & financial constraints in facilitating effective public participation

Why “Mobile Participation”• Majority of residents have cell 

phones• SMS’s will be read, more 

reliable that other communication channels

• Especially attractive communication medium for youth

• Addresses challenges related to large distances

• Relatively cost‐effective

Context

ConceptINBOUND SMS’S

Input on development priorities e.g. linked to IDP/budget consultations Input on proposals e.g. new policies & by‐laws, tariffs  Feedback on surveys Report service delivery faults Lodge complaints/ask questions

OUTBOUND SMS’S

Know your ward councillor sms alerts of opportunities to participate e.g. ward/ward committee/IDP/budget meetings, izimbizo, documents available for comment etc. Surveys e.g. customer satisfaction Service delivery notices e.g. disruptions

Councillors/Council

Citizens/stakeholders

Objectives1. Improve scope & quality 

of public participation in governance of GTM

2. Improve municipality’s responsiveness to citizens/stakeholders

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SMS - COMMUNICATING WITH THE COMMUNITY

Case Study

Emakhazeni Local Municipality

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COLLECTING DATA:

DECISION WAS TAKING NOT TO TAP INTO THE MUNICPIAL ACCOUNT• Privacy• “Buy in” wanted from the Citizens

NOITCES WERE ISSUED  AND ADVERTISEMENTS PLACED IN LOCAL PAPERS.WE THEN ISSUED A REQUEST ON THE MUNICIPAL WEBSITE.

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HOW IT WORKS:

THIS IS A WEB BASED SYSTEM.

ADVANTAGE IS THAT ONCE YOU HAVE INTERNET ACCESS, YOU CAN LOG INTO YOUR SECURE ACCOUNT ONLINE.

AFTER LOGGING IN, YOU ARE PRESENTED WITH AN OPTION MENU.

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HOW IT WORKS:

•YOU CAN ADD INDIVIDUAL CELL NUMBERS .•IMPORT FROM YOUR ADDRESS BOOK.•IMPORT AN EXCEL OR CSV FILE.

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EVEN AFTER YOU HAVE IMPORTED YOUR DATA FILE, YOU CAN STILL EDIT IT.

THE SYSTEM ALSO ALLOWS YOU TO LOCALISE YOUR DATA BASE.

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SENDING IS EASY.

WRITE YOUR MESSAGE IN THE TEXT BOX.

TICK THE GROUPS YOU WANT TO TARGET.

PRESS SEND.

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YOUR MESSAGE FIRST GOES TO AN OUTBOX,THEN TO THE SENT BOX.

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SMS REPORTING IS USER FRIENDLY.JUST SELECT THE PERIOD YOU REQUIRE, AND GENERATED REPORTS CAN BE SAVED IN PDF.

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Model for e-Participation

Informational Base for Well Established Processes (IDP, Budget, By‐Laws, municipal communications & ward meetings, legislated informational bases 

MSA & MFMA, etc.)

ICT infrastructure (Hardware & Software)

Info-mediaries

The Public &Other StakeholdersThe Public &Other Stakeholders

Mun

icipality

Model Software Infrastructure

Website Mobile Website

Mobile App

Third party site(Mxit,

FaceBook, etc.)

Any Web Browser

Mobile Browser

Call Centre Software

Clie

nt s

ide

(Pub

lic)

Ser

ver s

ide

(Mun

icip

ality

)

Mobile Phone

PCM System

PSTN or Mobile or VoIP phones

IVR

Mobile

SMS Gateway or provider

(e.g. BulkSMS)

Internet apps and incoming SMS (no cost to municipality)Free numbers and outgoing SMS (incurs cost to municipality)

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Recommendations

• 1st priority - ICT’s deployed, to the established and well understood systems of participatory local governance:

• From internal e-government to true eParticipation• Change mindset of officials – ICTs are not just for PR /

communication purposes• ICT standards linked to municipal category / grade / incentives

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