The eThekwini municipality in KwaZulu-Natal will today roll out the DynaTech smart city mobile application in a bid to improve service delivery.
The app is designed to integrate a range of services offered by the municipality. It is a responsive service delivery tool that enables municipalities to interact with their customers in real-time. This, in turn, not only saves the customers from having to queue at service points, but also allows speedy resolution and communication of cases.
The app was unveiled today at the Mobile Government Summit, a national initiative facilitated to advance the use of mobile technology at national, provincial and local government level. The event, being held at the Hilton Hotel in Durban, aims to bring together key figures from across all areas of the public sector.
In an interview with ITWeb, DynaTech CEO Ntokozo Xaba explained that the smart city app is only one part of the company's broader Integrated Service Management (ISM) e-government solution.
"Overall, the ISM solution covers mobility, big data, the cloud and the Internet of things - what Gartner refers to as the Nexus of Forces - using very advanced software for managing service delivery issues. This means that eThekwini will be the first municipality to benefit from this technology, which I believe will transform service delivery in the public sector, providing a truly 21st-century approach to this vexing issue," said Nxaba.
He pointed out that the need for a mobile channel of communication between citizens and the municipality was obvious, which is why DynaTech initiated the roll-out of the ISM with the Smart City app.
"We began with the eThekwini municipality as a result of signing an official contract with it," he said. "We hope to roll this solution out to municipalities across South Africa, and it has been developed as a cloud-based solution, so it can be made available to any municipality that chooses to utilise it, very quickly.
"In fact, we already have a number of municipalities in advanced stages of discussion around the implementation of the ISM solution," he added.
According to Nxaba, it is clear that the move from outdated, paper-based systems into e-government solutions needs to occur sooner, rather than later.
The Smart City app, which will be free to citizens, will be made available through the Apple iStore and Android PlayStore from 1 September and DynaTech is also in the process of developing an app for Windows Mobile and BlackBerry, both of which will be released later this year, said Nxaba.
So, for citizens to begin communicating with the eThekwini Municipality, they will simply need to go to the store and download the app, he explained, adding that as other municipalities join up, anyone within that region will be able to download and make use of the app.
Aside from the obvious advantages of being able to access municipal accounts and statements, the Smart City app will enable citizens to receive alerts related to municipal services, such as electricity, water and roads, as well as allow complaints to be lodged about service issues, Nxaba said. It will also allow citizens to use GPS to record the accurate location of the problem and even upload photographs, he pointed out.
He believes mobile is going to play a pivotal role in the forthcoming smart city transformation, simply because it is the most ubiquitous channel of access for citizens - regardless of their position in the economy, an increasing number of citizens have access to smart devices of one kind or another.
"In fact, if you look at the proliferation of smart devices in the emerging economies, it is already the most common method of access in terms of information, communication and e-commerce. I have no doubt that this is just the tip of the iceberg and mobile technology will be the key to the establishment of truly smart cities," he concluded.
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