Sense and the city
Geness adds that smart cities enable better management through what he describes as ‘more effective data-driven decision-making, reduced environmental impact, expanded opportunities for economic development, safer communities and general enhancements in how communities and municipalities collaborate’.
‘South Africans could benefit greatly from the advantages of smart cities, especially as we move to more sustainable ways of living in light of the growing impacts of climate change,’ he adds.
President Cyril Ramaphosa agrees. In 2019 he spoke about his ‘dream of a South Africa where the first entirely new city built in the democratic era rises, with skyscrapers, schools, universities, hospitals and factories’. Noting that South Africa had ‘not built a new city in 25 years of democracy’, he said: ‘Has the time not arrived for us to be bold and reach beyond ourselves and do what may seem impossible? Has the time not arrived to build a new smart city founded on the technologies of the Fourth Industrial Revolution? I would like to invite South Africans to begin imagining this prospect.’
A year later, in his 2020 State of the Nation Address, the president said a new smart city was taking shape in Lanseria, which 350 000 to 500 000 people would call home within the next decade. ‘It will not only be smart and 5G-ready, but will also be a leading benchmark for green infrastructure continental and internationally.’
In 2021 South Africa took another significant step on its smart cities journey when the Department of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs, in collaboration with the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research, published the South African Smart Cities Framework, setting out guidelines for what a smart city means in the SA context.
Today, four years on, is Africa’s biggest economy any closer to its smart city dream? No… but yes.
Some progress has been made on the ZAR84 billion Mooikloof Mega City in the east of Tshwane, where properties are already being bought and sold. This despite reports in 2023 that the developer, Balwin Properties, was still waiting for the government to provide ZAR1.4 billion for bulk infrastructure.
Lanseria Smart City broke ground in October 2024 with a ZAR320 million water treatment plant, and then Minister of Human Settlements Mmamoloko Kubayi confirmed that the first phase of the Greater Lanseria Master Plan (which includes the smart city) had been completed. But when news website BusinessTech visited the site in January 2025 it found what MyBroadband had found on an earlier visit: large stretches of open land and growing informal settlements.
South Africa’s slow start shows how difficult it is to make a smart city vision a reality. However, the country’s successes at a municipal level also provide a model for its African neighbours.
In 2024, telecommunications group MTN Business was awarded a three-year contract to enhance the digitisation of South Africa’s 257 municipalities through the implementation of smart electricity and water technology. This came through an RT29-2024 transversal contract, an initiative by National Treasury that serves as a centralised agreement for the supply, delivery, installation, management and maintenance of smart metering solutions across multiple municipalities.
The aim is to provide financial sustainability for South Africa’s municipalities by eliminating bypasses and ghost vending, and to ensure transparent and financially viable utility management. Smart metering is the back-bone of a smart municipality. MTN South Africa CEO Charles Molapisi points to a study by the Carbon Trust which found that businesses in the UK may be wasting up to 20% of the energy they are billed for, owing to outdated or faulty metering units.
‘Digital technologies have become fundamental to everyday life, and our ambition is to ensure these technologies touch the lives of our government, customers and businesses in various ways,’ says Molapisi.
Meanwhile, Naledi Municipality in South Africa’s North West province has partnered with Macrocomm, Ontec and Vodacom in another RT29 transversal contract, this time to upgrade its electricity meters to a smart metering system. Again, the benefits for a cash-strapped municipality cannot be overstated. Smart metering ensures billing is accurate and transparent, so that residents pay for what they consume and the municipality has an accurate picture of its income.
Smart metering systems are also scalable – as Macrocomm Group CEO Sivi Moodley makes clear. ‘After Naledi, we’re not slowing down,’ he says. ‘This is just the beginning and the momentum is building. Our goal is to help as many municipalities as possible. Every municipality is unique, but the challenges they face are often similar. We’re excited to bring the similar solutions we’re implementing in Naledi to these municipalities, one smart meter at a time, because we know the difference it can make.’
Zimele Technologies’ executive head of marketing, Bongani Mgayi, notes that much of South Africa’s smart technology deployment has focused on improving water and energy management – both of which are vital revenue streams. ‘The rollout of advanced metering infrastructure that measures, collects and analyses energy usage has enabled the real-time data collection and management of utilities, leading to improved energy distribution and lower costs for metros,’ he says. ‘Smart prepayment of utilities has also improved municipal cash flow through better billing and revenue collection, contributing to financial sustainability.’
But a truly ‘smart’ city connects with its citizens through multiple digital touchpoints. Polokwane Municipality is a good example. It launched the MyPolokwane Citizen App, a mobile app that allows users to report water leaks, potholes, electrical faults and waste collection concerns directly to the municipal departments. ‘This innovation embodies our dedication to transforming Polokwane into a smart city by 2030,’ says Makoro John Mpe, executive mayor of Polokwane Municipality. ‘MyPolokwane Citizen App is not just an application; it is a tool of empowerment, a symbol of progress, and a bridge between the municipality and its people.’
Warming to the theme, Mpe adds: ‘For the first time, our citizens will have a single, unified platform that empowers them to take charge of their communities. No longer will residents have to struggle with inefficient bureaucratic processes; instead, they will report service delivery issues instantly, upload photos to enhance precision and witness the power of real-time responses.’
The MyPolokwane Citizen App is certainly a leap forward for smart citizen engagement. It’s also a model other municipalities – in South Africa and beyond – could adopt.
‘In many cities and towns across the country, roads are not maintained, water and electricity supply is often disrupted, refuse is not collected and sewage runs in the streets,’ Ramaphosa said in his 2025 State of the Nation Address. While the second phase of the national government’s Operation Vulindlela focuses on fixing SA’s municipalities, a significant part of that will be digitising municipal services, monitoring utilities and connecting citizens to local government.
In other words, SA’s move towards smart cities is likely to ramp up in municipalities.
