e-Services in South Africa exacerbate inequality through digital barriers

Like many countries, South Africa has adopted e-government systems to deliver information and municipal services.

While the government has embraced digital tools to provide citizens with modern, seamless services, several barriers persist. These include digital literacy gaps, ageism and the urban-rural divide, which risk exacerbating existing inequalities, rather than alleviating them.

Civic engagement plays a vital role in maintaining and strengthening the health and stability of democracy in Africa. Defined as the active participation of citizens in the political and public life of their communities, it encompasses a wide range of activities, such as association membership, protest action, attending community meetings and contacting local government leaders.

Although South Africa’s 1996 Constitution mandates that local governments should provide democratic and accountable governance for local communities and deliver services in a sustainable manner, achieving these objectives is complex.

The country’s socio-economic and political landscape is marked by challenges in governance and administration, which complicate effective public participation.

Since 1994, several significant legal provisions have been enacted to encourage civic involvement, and common forms of engagement include protest action, voting and community meetings.

In recent years, technology has emerged as a critical tool to enhance civic engagement, aiming to improve efficiency and effectiveness in citizen-government interactions.

Local municipalities globally have embraced technology to strengthen civic engagement, using it to better involve citizens in governance and decision-making processes.

For example, in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, the city council has developed an online platform for citizens to report service delivery issues — it can also be used to participate in public consultations.

In Seoul, South Korea, local authorities have developed a platform where citizens can actively make, review and select proposals on the budget process.

Similarly, in Porto Alegre, Brazil, a participatory budgeting model has been adopted on digital platforms, broadening traditional forms of engagement.

This model not only challenges corruption and clientelism but also effectively mobilises marginalised groups and poor people. About 87% of Brazilians are internet users and 97% have cellular mobile connections.

In South Korea, about 92% of the population can access the internet.

By comparison, in South Africa, almost 75% of the population has access, with 43.5% being social media users and mobile connections far exceeding the population at 195.5%.

South Africa’s local municipalities, like their global counterparts, are increasingly embracing technology to enhance civic engagement.

The City of Johannesburg, for example, has implemented the “Joburg Connect” service, allowing citizens to make complaints, comments and suggestions by phone and  view their account balances online.

Tshwane has hosted virtual town hall meetings to engage with residents about municipal issues.

Similarly, the Buffalo City metro has created an e-government portal where residents can make applications, check service delivery statuses and receive municipal announcements.

Technology can be a vital tool to enhance public participation by making it easier for citizens to organise, mobilise and engage with governance structures. It opens up new avenues for communication between citizens and those in power. But, to truly strengthen public participation, the use of technology must be inclusive.

While technology can create efficiencies in governance, it risks excluding marginalised groups who rely on traditional civic engagements, such as imbizos — especially prevalent in rural areas.

For instance, platforms such as the City of Joburg’s corporate geo-informatics online maps, which provide spatial information for the city and its clients, enhance communication with citizens. But they may also inadvertently leave some people behind, particularly those who lack access to digital platforms.

The introduction of e-governance platforms raises important questions about accessibility. Who gets access to these apps and online services? Although about 75% of South Africans are internet users, data affordability remains a significant barrier. The country’s data prices are among the highest in Africa.

According to a report by Naspers in collaboration with the Mapungubwe Institute for Strategic Reflection, South Africa ranks 20th out of 50 sub-Saharan African countries in terms of data costs, highlighting the financial obstacles that many face when accessing online services.

Digital literacy presents another challenge, particularly for older people. Many of them lack the digital skills needed to navigate online platforms and government websites, contributing to ageism in civic participation. This digital divide can lead to further marginalisation of older people who are more familiar with traditional forms of engagement.

Additionally, frequent changes in political leadership can erode trust between people and local governments.

In Johannesburg, for example, there have been five executive mayors since the 2021 local election.

This constant turnover disrupts the continuity of public service by preventing budgets from being passed, forcing citizens to repeatedly rebuild trust, while new mayors must take time to understand the unique challenges faced by their communities.

Municipal financial instability further complicates the situation. According to the auditor general, only 16% of municipalities have good financial health, with metropolitan municipalities at 21%, local municipalities at 18% and district municipalities at just 6%.

Many municipalities are not financially self-sufficient, hindering their ability to invest in critical infrastructure, including information and communication technology (ICT) systems, to deliver e-services.

This shortfall particularly affects rural areas, which are often left behind due to a lack of ICT infrastructure and basic digital literacy, further restricting citizens’ access to digital services.

In Good Governance Africa’s latest Governance Performance Index, we highlighted that service delivery and unemployment rates were significantly lower in areas comprising former “homelands”. These are the very areas least likely to have access to data or the internet.

When technology and governance systems fail to be inclusive, they exacerbate the existing socio-economic divides.

Poor service delivery, compounded by challenges such as limited internet access, unaffordable data and inadequate digital skills, can alienate vulnerable populations.

This deepens mistrust between citizens and government, undermining the potential of technology to foster meaningful civic engagement and leaving many without a voice in decision-making processes.

According to Afro-barometer, between 2016 and 2018, 58% of Africans attended community meetings, with significant variation across countries. For example, 89% of Madagascans, 82% of Tanzanians, and 79% of Malawians reported attending meetings, compared to just 12% of Tunisians and 30% of Mauritians.

In South Africa, 68% of citizens attend community meetings, and 58% join others to raise an issue — aligning with the regional average of 58%. Just 33% of South Africans reported contacting their local government leader, which is notably above the regional average of 22%.

Similarly, 23% identify as active members or leaders of an organisation, closely mirroring the regional average of 24%.

These levels of civic engagement are juxtaposed against the backdrop of declining support for, and satisfaction with, democracy in South Africa, correlated with declining partisanship.

Over the past decade, support for democracy has decreased by 29 points, while satisfaction has decreased by 35 points in South Africa. From 2011 to 2022, the percentage of South Africans who reported being “fairly” or “very” satisfied with democracy plummeted from 60% to 25%. Over the same period, support for democracy fell from 72% to 43%.

These declines reflect a growing trust deficit between citizens and the government. As citizens become increasingly detached from their government, their commitment to upholding and strengthening the democratic process weakens.

While South Africa has successfully implemented some e-government services aimed at fostering efficiency and improving service delivery, these initiatives must be accompanied by efforts to address critical barriers.

For e-government services to truly enhance civic engagement, issues such as digital literacy, data affordability and ICT infrastructure must be tackled.

Without addressing these barriers, e-services risk excluding marginalised groups from participating in democratic processes.

This article first appeared in Mail & Guardian.