Geographic information systems (GIS) are playing an ever-growing role in local provincial administration. One Cape Town local authority is using middleware to stretch its GIS application even further, saving costs and providing better service levels.
Tygerberg City Council has also introduced an Internet enabler to position for the future in terms of e-commerce, Internet marketing and information provision.
"The importance of GIS as a management tool for local authorities is growing," says Leon van Wyk, head of Information Technology Services for the Tygerberg City Council in Cape Town. "GIS is playing an increasingly vital role for us as it can be applied in a vast number of areas regarding management information, including civil engineering, traffic, urban planning, civil defense, electricity, health and finance."
The functionality of GIS covers a broad spectrum of disciplines. This ranges from high level spatial analyses on the complex side of the spectrum, to basic map making on the less advanced side (for example, zoning maps, cadastral contours, low and high voltage electricity networks, sewerage networks and street centre lines).
Basic GIC functionality will enable the user to view a map of the Cape Peninsula, then click on a suburb to get a roadmap. It also allows the user to search and locate specific ervan (pieces of land), and view the approved Surveyor General diagrams.
"The Tygerberg City Council has recently extended its use of GIS with the addition of EntireX middleware and iXpress software, from Software AG," says Willem Simpson of SPL Cape. SPL is the sole representative for Software AG products and services in Southern Africa.
"EntireX, a middleware tool, serves to integrate the Council`s GIS with new corporate (financial) computer systems. This means the user can now go further with the GIS application. For example, he can now click on a specific erf in the area to get even more information. He may need the owner`s name and telephone number, and information about whether his rates and taxes have been paid, water consumption levels over a period of time, and so on.
"The addition of iXpress is facilitating the linking of these systems to the Internet, resulting in a truly leading edge application," he says.
"Information is a corporate resource, and relevant information needs to be made available to the general public and business community in the Tygerberg area," says van Wyk. "The iXpress software will facilitate this. For those without Internet access, we hope to set up public information kiosks some time in the future.
"In addition to providing people with a wealth of information, iXpress will also enable electronic payment of accounts and the marketing of the city of Tygerberg over the Internet in the future."
Tygerberg City Council`s new integrated computer system was necessitated by the amalgamation of a number of municipal administrations into the City of Tygerberg. The new system for all the local authorities under its control went into production on July 1 this year (1998).
"Our acquisition of the SPL software allows us to apply our existing investment in GIS systems much more cost effectively, and it will facilitate better service levels," says van Wyk.
Share
Editorial contacts