The Eastern Cape (EC) government is working to ensure the province is not left behind in South Africa’s fourth industrial revolution vision, by pushing ahead with the development of its African coastal smart city.
This was the word from Eastern Cape premier Lubabalo Oscar Mabuyane, speaking during his State of the Province Address at the Eastern Cape Provincial Legislature last week.
Read more: ZA: Eastern Cape makes inroads with coastal smart city
Acumen Software, the South African software solutions company that builds service delivery systems, launched the first phase of its My Smart City citizen’s platform last year. The platform enables citizens to log their service delivery issues on the mobile app or website and is the first digital offering of its kind in the country.
My Smart City has seen its support grow in the cities where it has launched. The platform is available in the cities of Johannesburg, Cape Town, Ekurhuleni, Tshwane and now eThekwini. Both the City of Cape Town and City Power have integrated My Smart City into their systems. The team intends connecting to all municipal systems to enable the automation of information flow from citizens.
President Cyril Ramaphosa last week delivered South Africa’s State of the Nation Address (Sona), and the proverbial dust has now settled.
This dust may have been kicked up by those who oppose him, his leadership style, his party, the ANC, and the way it is leading this country. Conversely, others were left unimpressed by what was delivered in the address, as it provided them with nothing to make their lives any better or provide genuine hope.
Read more: SA needs more than a social pact: it must deliver a smart economy and nation
Eastern Cape premier Oscar Mabuyane says work is underway to develop a new smart city in the province.
Presenting his state of the province address on Thursday (17 February), Mabuyane indicated that the project was still in the planning and design phase, with the provincial government working to attract investors.
Read more: New coastal smart city to be built in South Africa
The Kouga Local Municipality has been working hard to establish Kouga as a “Smart City”, which will see the region receive state-of-the-art technology and will ultimately preserve quality of life for residents.
According to Kouga Executive Mayor, Horatio Hendricks, a Smart City consists of state-of-the-art technology that is accessible to most residents – if not all – preparing for the concept of Industry 4.0.
Read more: ZA: Eastern Cape: Kouga working towards Smart City status