Beyond the ballot box: can technology help South African citizens be heard?

Loren Treisman

Technology is helping people express their concerns, but more needs to be done before its full potential is realised.

On May 7 in South Africa the "born frees" – those born after the apartheid era – will be voting for the first time.

Twenty years since the start of democracy, the country has transformed beyond recognition. But the sun has set on Mandela's golden era and progress since has been patchy. Protests are breaking out across the country, as citizens become increasingly frustrated with poor service delivery and corruption.

South Africa's nascent democracy needs to be nurtured. For it to function effectively, citizens must have the means to actively participate in democratic processes.

Mobile phones are now almost ubiquitous in South Africa and technology can help accelerate this process by enabling citizens to access critical information about their elected representatives and the laws that govern them so that they can make informed decisions. It can also provide them with avenues through which to express their concerns and hold government to account.

Sites like People's Assembly enable South Africans to scrutinise MP activity and track their special interests. Users can track parliamentary proceedings, debates and committees and locate their local constituency office at the click of a button.

A promising open data movement is blooming. The government has released datasets ranging from national budgets to access to medicines, and elections to demographics. Developers and analysts are bringing this data to life – transforming dull spreadsheets into tools and visualisations that enable citizens to interpret and utilise information to improve their lives.

They have created tools that allow citizens to track crimes in their neighbourhood, find out which medication is their cheapest option, how their councillor is spending taxes in their area, and how their neighbours are voting.

Mobile phones are also starting to connect citizens to service providers. In Khayelitsha township, civil society groups have created platforms that allow citizens to report problems with service delivery like poor refuse collection or blocked toilets by SMS or online. Reports are channelled to Cape Town City Council to resolve.

These approaches are tantalising, but their reach is currently too limited to significantly shape South Africa's future. So what can we do to ensure that citizens are truly able to make their voices count ahead of the 2019 election?

Government needs to systematically release data in a standard open format, so that it can be easily manipulated and compared. The data needs to be sufficiently granular so as to be useful. Most citizens are more interested in knowing how money is being spent in their local school and hospital than education or health expenditure at a national level.

Civil society and independent activists have a powerful role to play. They already have a deep understanding of the processes which bring about social change and experience in mobilising citizens around important issues such as water and sanitation services, policing and education.

Working with technologists, organisations can integrate digital approaches into their campaigns and programmes.

Tech can help organisations share critical information, receive feedback from the communities they're working with and amplify their voices. When used appropriately, this can strengthen evidence-based campaigning and enable more effective community mobilisation to stimulate change.

Journalists can work with technologists and data analysts to scrutinise government, expose corruption and, alongside civil society, provide channels through which citizens can be heard and spurred to take action. Through turning data into stories, they can contribute towards a more informed citizenry.

Mobile operators could also contribute to this change through reducing data costs, particularly for social projects.

At the heart of it, what is needed is greater collaboration to create momentum in this space. Only then can technology realise its potential and enable South Africans to demand improved services and genuinely hold their government to account.

Loren Treisman is the executive director at The Indigo Trust. She will be speaking at the Guardian's Activate Johannesburg Summit on 26 June