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Data-driven governance: The essential tool for South Africa's municipalities to thrive and serve

Chris Pappas
By Chris Pappas
27 May 2025
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Municipalities are operating with one hand tied behind their backs because local governments have a difficult time accessing the data that is crucial for streamlining operations and enhancing service delivery.

Across South Africa, municipalities are grappling with the same persistent challenges: constrained revenue, rising service delivery demands, and increasing expectations for efficiency and responsiveness.

As the sphere of government closest to the people, local government bears the brunt of being both the visible face and the problem solver of many of our country’s most pressing socioeconomic challenges.

Yet, one of the most powerful tools for addressing these issues, data, remains largely out of reach. 

At present, local governments have a difficult time accessing the data that is crucial for streamlining operations and enhancing service delivery. Whether it is verifying eligibility for indigent support, identifying customers who have relocated or passed away, improving billing and credit control systems, or simply communicating more effectively with residents, municipalities are operating with one hand tied behind their backs.

The core issue is that most of this valuable data is held by national institutions such as the Department of Home Affairs, South African Revenue Service (SARS), South African Social Security Agency (Sassa), and Statistics South Africa, and remains either inaccessible, prohibitively expensive, or unavailable for municipal use due to legal constraints. 

This asymmetry in data access severely undermines the ability of municipalities to operate optimally. While national and provincial governments have access to expansive data repositories and integrated information systems, municipalities, tasked with delivering services directly to citizens, are expected to operate on outdated, fragmented, and incomplete information.

As a result, many municipalities are left reacting to crises that could have been prevented through smarter, data-driven management. 

Indigent support


Take, for example, the challenge of managing indigent support. Municipalities are legally mandated to provide a package of free basic services to qualifying low-income households.

However, the identification of eligible households is often unreliable. Many households self-declare their indigent status, without thorough verification.

If municipalities had access to verified income and social grant data from SARS and Sassa, they could assess indigent applications in real time, ensuring that support is correctly targeted, fiscal leakage is minimised, and resources are allocated where they are most needed. 

Likewise, billing and credit control systems could be significantly improved with better data sharing. One of the primary obstacles to revenue collection is the inaccuracy of customer records, outdated addresses, deceased account holders, and informal property transfers that are not captured in municipal databases.

With structured, legal access to data from the Department of Home Affairs, the Deeds Office, and SARS (limited for municipal purposes and bound by data protection laws), municipalities could enhance the accuracy of their billing systems, reduce bad debt, and lower legal recovery costs. 

This is not a call for intrusive surveillance or the violation of personal privacy. Rather, it is a call for rational, secure, and responsible data sharing between different spheres of government to achieve common developmental goals. Indeed, several international examples illustrate how data integration can empower local governments while protecting individual privacy. 

Estonia is perhaps the most cited example of a country that has revolutionised governance through integrated data systems. Its X-Road platform securely connects public institutions, allowing municipalities to verify identity, income status, and residency in real time.

Citizens do not have to re-submit information already held by the government — once it’s in the system, it is accessible to authorised departments. Estonian law mandates this efficiency while embedding strong privacy protections. The result is a lean, highly responsive, and citizen-centred public service. 

In the United Kingdom, local councils are permitted to share data with national government departments and even utility providers under clear legal frameworks, particularly for the purposes of fraud prevention, council tax collection, and welfare management. The Digital Economy Act 2017 facilitated more structured inter-agency data sharing while reinforcing privacy safeguards.

Councils such as Camden in London have pioneered collaborative data initiatives, using anonymised and purpose-specific data to design services, allocate budgets, and proactively respond to community needs. 

South Africa must move in a similar direction. Our Constitution envisions a cooperative model of governance where all three spheres, national, provincial, and local, collaborate in good faith. Section 41(1)(h) of the Constitution explicitly instructs organs of state to “cooperate with one another in mutual trust and good faith by… sharing information”.

Cooperation


Yet in practice, this cooperation, particularly around data, is weak and underdeveloped. 

There is an urgent need for national legislation and policy reform that allows municipalities structured, lawful, and cost-free access to essential data. This must be done in alignment with the Protection of Personal Information Act (Popia) and other privacy laws.

However, privacy concerns must not be used to paralyse progress. Data protection and data sharing are not mutually exclusive: they can coexist within a well-governed framework. 

Of course, municipalities must also build their internal capacity to manage and use data effectively. Improved access means very little without the necessary skills, digital infrastructure, and systems in place to interpret, protect, and act on that data. Investment in internal systems, staff training, and integrated billing and communication platforms is critical. 

In uMngeni Local Municipality, we have made strides to digitise certain operations, improve our asset register, and expand the use of electronic billing. But without reliable external data, these efforts can only go so far.

Imagine a South Africa where every municipality could verify the death of an account holder instantly, confirm an applicant’s income bracket, or send updates to residents with verified contact information: all within a framework that respects legal and ethical boundaries.

That is a government that works. That is a government that honours the dignity of its citizens. 

Our local government systems are ready for the new data-driven economy. If we are to rebuild public trust and deliver services more efficiently, we must empower municipalities with the data tools they need. This is more than a technical reform, it is a moral and developmental imperative.

Because without data, we cannot govern effectively. And without effective governance, we cannot build the future our citizens deserve. DM



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