Digital Mapping in Warwick Junction and the Remaking of 'Space': Notes from South Africa

“With greater ICT availability, there is a growing possibility for citizens to use ICTs to hold government accountable, particularly around local public service delivery.”

This brief provides analytical insight into a project in South Africa that used information and communication technologies (ICTs) for citizen-government engagement. It looks at an under-reported sector, the informal economy, and reflects on ICT use for improving working conditions amongst informal traders. According to the brief, there is a paucity of research in the area of informal traders, public service delivery, and ICT-mediated engagement, mainly because the informal economy generally is not given much attention in terms of development or ICT support. The brief is part of a series from IT for Change produced from its Voice or Chatter? research project, a multi-country case study analysis about how ICT-mediated citizen engagement can be empowering for citizens and transformative for democratic governance outcomes. Voice or Chatter? was funded by Making All Voices Count.

As explained in the report, there have been significant shifts in the policy environment of South Africa that are transforming the way citizen engagement takes place in the country. However, high income inequality in South Africa extends to the differentiated experiences of ICT-mediated engagement amongst citizens, and ICT response mechanisms are not well defined with respect to sub-populations who may work or live in less formalised and undocumented settings. The Phephanathi project (translated to “Be safe with us” in the isiZulu local language) described in the brief was implemented in Warwick market, one of the largest inner city 'informal' open air markets in Durban. Informal traders were encouraged to re-imagine their workplaces as safe spaces where they enjoy rights to their occupational health. To do this, the project established a platform that allowed informal traders and the local municipality to engage with each other, and for informal traders to voice their needs around the health and safety environment of the market. In particular, the project used participatory mapping to help establish mechanisms for traders to work with the municipality, via the non-governmental organisation (NGO) Asiye eTafuleni, on their health and safety needs. ICTs were used to send messages related to health to traders and to get feedback from traders through geo-tagging of health and safety hazards in the market. Risk management committees (elected amongst the traders) were set up to provide training to traders on health and safety issues as well as to use the ICT platform.

As explained in the report summary, “[W]hat the case study has demonstrated is that ICTs can be used to legitimise the public resources needed for safe and healthy work spaces for informal traders. Findings however suggest that further ICT training is necessary to improve the online dialogue between traders and local government, enabling the former to demand improved sanitation and health service delivery. Also, high cost of data and telephonic connectivity limits the participation of traders.”

The case study makes the point that, as a pilot project, “this initiative opens up possibilities for traders to re-imagine ways of engaging with government and demonstrating alternative forms of governance where public services are non-existent. An approach that blends ICT strategies with face-to-face dialogue can certainly enhance citizen engagement. However, in informal settings, this needs a carefully planned, incremental transition with regard to the use of ICTs. It also needs allocation of resources towards digital training and to make public WiFi free.”