Cape Town – Public Service and Administration Minister Ngoako Ramatlhodi says the open government concept, where citizens are allowed to participate in key projects, has enhanced transparency and improved the livelihoods of all people.
Minister Ramatlhodi said government has initiated a partnership with software technology companies to resolve day-to-day challenges like the recent water challenges.
He said this when he opened the Open Government Partnership (OGP) Africa Regional Conference at the Century City Conference Centre in Cape Town, on Thursday.
“As part of our participation in the OGP, we have developed a Hack-for-Water project with partners such as Code for South Africa, the Innovation Hub, Microsoft and the Department for Water and Sanitation.
“The purpose of the OGP Hack-for-Water project is to expand the reach of its awareness and education campaigns, to encourage more responsible use of water in industry, agriculture and within communities,” he said.
The OGP is an international voluntary effort to improve government performance, encourage civic participation and enhance government responsiveness to people. It aims to secure concrete commitments from governments to promote transparency, empower citizens, fight corruption and harness new technologies to strengthen governance.
Minister Ramatlhodi said the Hack-for-Water project seeks to encourage communities, researchers, and entrepreneurs to propose “out-of-the-box” ideas for solving water management challenges.
Through Hack-for-Water, entrepreneurs and ordinary South Africans have submitted innovative ideas and solutions aimed at conserving water and encouraging responsible water use.
“The… project demonstrates the importance of open government in encouraging the use of technology in encouraging citizen participation in solving daily life challenges that face our citizens.
“Indeed the OGP does add value to good governance and we encourage more African countries to join the partnership,” he said.
Sectorial partnerships key to the success of open government
Minister Ramatlhodi said, meanwhile, that it was important to acknowledge that the OGP is new and that forging partnerships should be handled in a delicate manner, as political systems from various countries are uneven in their development and maturity.
“Notwithstanding this acknowledgement, it is our conviction that it will be erroneous for us to harbour the illusion that consensus building means that the views of one sector in the partnership must prevail at all times.
“As a country, we believe that we need to navigate the dynamic political space brought about by the uniqueness of the partnership between civil society and government in a manner that is balanced and does not drown the voice of the other but recognizes that each has different expectations, priorities and accounts to different stakeholders.” – SAnews.gov.za
