Stellenbosch Municipality has released a new app in an effort to increase public communication and engagement around the municipality’s draft budget and Integrated Development Plan (IDP).
The IDP is a strategic planning instrument, which guides and informs all planning and development within a municipality, for a five-year period.
A screengrab of the notifications tab on the Stellenbosch Citizen App that sends important municipal updates straight to residents’ phones. SCREENGRAB: Stellenbosch Citizen App/Rachele Button
The Stellenbosch Citizen App, launched on 1 May, is vitally important because it allows normal democratic processes to continue despite the nationwide lockdown. This was according to dr Leon Schreiber, the Democratic Alliance (DA) constituency head for Stellenbosch.
“Practically, the app opens a direct two-way channel of communication between residents and the municipality,” said Schreiber.
The app is particularly useful because it eliminates travel costs and allows residents to communicate with the municipality despite living far away from municipal offices, Schreiber said.
“It saves both time and money by reducing the need to travel. And, because it was designed to use as little data as possible, it does not impose any undue financial barriers to participation,” said Schreiber.
According to Stuart Grobbelaar, Stellenbosch Municipality’s communications manager, the Stellenbosch Citizen App will soon expand to include features beyond the draft budget and IDP engagement processes.
“We are working with the developers to create exciting new features that will be rolled out in future. These include municipal news, community polls, quick access to your ward councillor and logging a service delivery request or fault directly on the app,” said Grobbelaar.
The Stellenbosch Citizen App is available on devices that use Java software, like Nokia and Sony Ericsson, and is available to download on both Apple and Android devices.
The app was developed by the digital services platform, ComUnity. For David Prosser, the CEO and founder of ComUnity, it was important to make it accessible to all users, during the development process.
“When you deliver services to the citizenry, you can’t leave anyone behind. You need to be able to reach people from all walks of society on whatever device they may have,” said Prosser.
The communications tab directs Stellenbosch residents straight to their relevant municipal division. It also includes a Live Chat and Stellenbosch Municipality Twitter feed tab. SCREENGRAB: Stellenbosch Citizen App/Rachele Button.