The recently unveiled community mobile app, Link, is about active citizenry and providing residents with local information, says Link director Charles Murray.
Powered by Vodacom, the app's main function is to enable communities to report service delivery issues directly to their municipalities and ward councillors.
According to Murray, the country-wide app is made up of three main channels: wards, safety and businesses.
Citizens will be aware of what is happening around them based on municipal and security needs, as well as business offerings, he says.
Murray says the ward channel allows citizens to easily report a range of municipal issues around them, such as potholes, blocked drains, burst pipes, electricity outages, refuse issues and faulty street signs.
The app geo-locates the user so that municipalities know exactly where the issues are and can move to correct them much quicker than before.
"We want to get to a point where we'll be able to say in Johannesburg there are 500 potholes that need fixing. This information is made available to the ward councillors, we let them manage their channel if they want to. They get to talk to all their residents in their wards through the app and they are also able to see what is going on in their wards. We are trying to put the power back into the residents' hands."
In terms of the security and safety channel, Link works with the residents association. People are able to report crime incidents in their area, he says. "We're also partnering with a large security company."
The business channel on the other hand allows citizens to see all the businesses around them. "We allow them to come on for free and claim their places. Should they want to do any promotions we have a charge for that," Murray notes.
The app also features a chat and calling functionality, which is attached to a service cost.
Partner for change
The app has already integrated into the Cape Town municipality systems. While it is not integrated into the City of Johannesburg as yet, Link says its team is reporting all issues countrywide to the relevant municipalities.
Murray is of the view that South African citizens are not necessarily seeing the true picture of what is going on in the basic services space. With crime, for example, community members are sometimes exposed to stats that they aren't sure are correct.
"We actually want the people to have a say as to what is happening in our country, both in the wards and security channels. We want people to go out, report issues and get them fixed. We want the country to get cleaned up.
"We want to cover all the basic information with regards to issues that affect your life such as safety, jobs, water and air quality," he concludes.
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