The smart way forward

As part of the BIP, the City will increase the number of last-mile access links to continue connecting buildings such as clinics and libraries, as well as other critical service delivery systems, including water management systems, traffic lights, Metro Police cameras, smart meters, environmental monitors and public Wi-Fi access points. This will directly contribute to service excellence.

Technological innovation

Among the goals for any modern city is to boost the levels of digitalisation in its administrative operations, thereby optimising efficiency, and to improve connectivity for residents within the municipal area, in both residential and commercial contexts. Key to achieving both of these is ensuring the widespread deployment of fast, stable internet infrastructure.

The City’s Broadband Infrastructure Project (BIP) is aimed at creating a municipally owned telecommunications network to serve the municipality across the metropolitan area. The high-speed Cape Town broadband infrastructure network is a strategic asset that is central to the fulfilment of the City’s vision of becoming a truly digital city.

In May 2019, the City approved a change in project scope, shifting the focus to the deployment of network infrastructure only. The BIP has now been established as a full infrastructure-only programme led by the City’s Portfolio, Programme and Project Management Office. Having completed project planning in accordance with the City’s new stage-gate process in 2019/20, the focus over the 2020/21 financial year was on completing the detailed design.

By the end of FY 2020/21, the City had installed a total of 1 143 km of fibre-optic cable. This includes fibre-optic cabling used to connect the City’s buildings, including libraries and clinics, as well as bus stations, cameras and other infrastructure vital for service delivery. Over 400 City buildings across more than 200 sites benefit from the administration’s broadband infrastructure. As the number of access networks continues to expand, together with the number of devices and systems connected to them, the City’s broadband infrastructure will become ever more important to the administration’s daily service delivery.

Over the course of the previous financial year, 2020/21, the City’s initiative to modernise Community Services and Health IT and business systems recorded various key achievements, which are listed below:

Information Systems for Patient Care: The Prehmis 4 clinic appointment system is being used at 85 of the City’s 87 clinics and community day centres that are currently operational (excluding mobile and satellite services). According to the City’s FY 2020/21 annual report, over 15 000 appointments were being made on this system each week. Development of the patient administration system (including features such as patient flow management), the pharmacy system (including electronic dispensing and basic stock management), and the clinical information system (including integration with the National Health Laboratory Service) continues. The first deliverables of the patient administration and pharmacy systems had been implemented by June 2021. Work on the next phase of deliverables has commenced in 2021/22.

Information

Systems for Environmental

Health: This project will enable customer-centric service delivery and compliance with national environmental health norms and standards, and will simplify and streamline processes as the current paper-based procedures are digitised. By June 2021, the design of the environmental health information system had been completed and work on implementing Phase 1 has commenced in 2021/22.

Recreation & Parks – Facility Booking Systems: The development of the facility booking system, which provides a platform for online booking and payment, as well as mobile field services, is complete. The SAP booking system for the City’s swimming pools and sports grounds was also launched in August 2020. It allows customers to view real-time availability of a facility on the internet and book online, and enjoy faster turnaround times from booking to payment.

Social Development & Early Childhood Development (ECD) – Registration

Support System: The ECD modernisation tool was launched during the previous financial year. Thanks to this tool, City departments involved in ECD compliance can now work together to fast-track processes that enable ECD centres to register with the Province’s Department of Social Development.

Spatial data management

The City’s Spatial Data Management Project supports the collation, analysis and interpretation of spatial data to inform the City’s spatial development frameworks and decisions. The data also provide a basis for the City to understand the impacts and consequences of planning decisions, and to monitor spatial transformation. The need for enhanced, evidence-based spatial tools to provide decision-makers with accurate and credible information is greater than ever before in light of the technical recessions in recent years, the long-term impact of Covid-19, as well as the stark socioeconomic realities facing Cape Town. With this in mind, the following projects and platforms are being developed:

• Enhanced spatial trends analysis – To monitor and evaluate the location, nature and quantum of land-use change in the city.

• Land-use model 2040 – Involves the quantification and spatial distribution of current and future land-use projections to inform sector and master planning initiatives, as well as the management of both new and renewed infrastructure assets. The land-use model incorporates a rigorous land audit and is a primary informant to the City’s land consumption requirements over the next 20 years.

• Urban development index –Includes indicators to reflect spatial transformation in terms of land use, housing and transport.

• Spatial costing tool – Calculates operating and capital costs associated with development. These costs vary according to location in relation to the MSDF (Metropolitan Spatial Development Framework) spatial transformation areas, which set differentiated development rules based on the City’s investment rationale. Among others, the spatial costing tool model will inform input regarding compliance with the MSDF for applications in Cape Town’s discouraged growth area.

• Undeveloped and partially developed land inventory – To inform the City’s land-use model and the review of the eight District Spatial Development Frameworks.

• Urban development zone performance index – Determines the performance of the urban development zone tax incentive. Performance is assessed against the objective of stimulating urban real-estate regeneration in deteriorating areas that have been prioritised for public investment.