Towards Smarter Cities: Digitising Municipal Services for Enhanced Interaction and Efficiency

Allen Yaxley introduces the definition of a smart city, which emphasizes digital interaction between people and local government, eliminating the need for physical office visits.

The implementation of digital portals like a citizen portal and a business portal streamlines service delivery and application processing, including building plan applications, business licenses, and other municipal services.

Currently in 2024, 25 out of 29 municipalities in the Western Cape heavily utilize the building plan portal and no longer accept paper-based applications. The focus is shifting towards enhancing electronic communication between stakeholders, with the coming years expecting significant improvements.