Value of addresses to the economy, society and governance - a South African perspective

Abstract

The paper presents examples that illustrate the benefits of addresses in South Africa, such as: Connecting households to utilities such as water, sewage, telecommunications and electricity; Routing emergency services, and providing assistance during disaster management; Allowing retail outlets to provide delivery services to their customers in all areas of the country; postal delivery - government policy is to provide every citizen with mail delivery to their place of residence, as opposed to just centralized post boxes; Planning and execution of elections and household surveys such as the Census; providing proof of residential address for opening a bank account with a financial services institutions (as required by legislation to combat money laundering; and Finding your friends and family In this paper, the authors show examples of how newly allocated addresses have contributed to the local economy, society, and governance. They believe benefits are applicable in other countries as well.