The South African Spatial Data Infrastructure – Where are the Municipalities?

Siebritz, LADesai, ACooper, Antony KCoetzee, S2022-02-072022-02-072022Siebritz, L., Desai, A., Cooper, A.K. & Coetzee, S. 2022. The South African Spatial Data Infrastructure – Where are the Municipalities?. International Journal of Spatial Data Infrastructures Research, 15. http://hdl.handle.net/10204/122591725-0463https://doi.org/10.2902/1725-0463.15.art6http://hdl.handle.net/10204/12259Many municipalities in South Africa, especially those in rural areas, do not have the resources to maintain the geospatial information required to deliver essential services. Conversely, National Geo-spatial Information (NGI), the national mapping agency (NMA), captures data themes required by municipalities but not at scales suitable for municipal purposes. In 2003, the South African Spatial Data Infrastructure (SASDI) was initiated through national legislation as the ‘national technical, institutional and policy framework’ to govern public geospatial information. However, involvement of the country’s more than 250 municipalities in SASDI has been limited. In order to better understand the role of municipalities in the development and implementation of SASDI, we reviewed this over four periods: (1) before 1994, i.e., before the new Constitution of South Africa came into force; (2) 1994 to 2000, when the idea of an SDI emerged through voluntary participation; (3) 2000 to 2009, when the SASDI legislation was enacted but nothing really happened; and (4) from 2010 to date, starting with the first meeting of the Committee for Spatial Information, the SASDI coordinating body. The review confirms that unless SASDI steps in to provide coordination mechanisms between different spheres of government, the NMA will continue to supply unsuitable data and municipalities will be left to their own devices. A SASDI that caters for diverse user needs through bottom-up influences could greatly improve local municipalities’ service delivery. We have used the results of our study to propose a governance framework where all spheres of government are involved in SASDI and municipalities have an opportunity to communicate their data needs from the bottom, upward.FulltextenSouth African Spatial Data InfrastructureSASDISpatial data infrastructureSDISDI evolutionMunicipalitiesBottom-up SDIDecentralised SDIMunicipal service deliveryThe South African Spatial Data Infrastructure – Where are the Municipalities?ArticleSiebritz, L., Desai, A., Cooper, A. K., & Coetzee, S. (2022). The South African Spatial Data Infrastructure – Where are the Municipalities?. International Journal of Spatial Data Infrastructures Research, 15, http://hdl.handle.net/10204/12259Siebritz, LA, A Desai, Antony K Cooper, and S Coetzee "The South African Spatial Data Infrastructure – Where are the Municipalities?." International Journal of Spatial Data Infrastructures Research, 15 (2022) http://hdl.handle.net/10204/12259Siebritz L, Desai A, Cooper AK, Coetzee S. The South African Spatial Data Infrastructure – Where are the Municipalities?. International Journal of Spatial Data Infrastructures Research, 15. 2022; http://hdl.handle.net/10204/12259.TY - Article AU - Siebritz, LA AU - Desai, A AU - Cooper, Antony K AU - Coetzee, S AB - Many municipalities in South Africa, especially those in rural areas, do not have the resources to maintain the geospatial information required to deliver essential services. Conversely, National Geo-spatial Information (NGI), the national mapping agency (NMA), captures data themes required by municipalities but not at scales suitable for municipal purposes. In 2003, the South African Spatial Data Infrastructure (SASDI) was initiated through national legislation as the ‘national technical, institutional and policy framework’ to govern public geospatial information. However, involvement of the country’s more than 250 municipalities in SASDI has been limited. In order to better understand the role of municipalities in the development and implementation of SASDI, we reviewed this over four periods: (1) before 1994, i.e., before the new Constitution of South Africa came into force; (2) 1994 to 2000, when the idea of an SDI emerged through voluntary participation; (3) 2000 to 2009, when the SASDI legislation was enacted but nothing really happened; and (4) from 2010 to date, starting with the first meeting of the Committee for Spatial Information, the SASDI coordinating body. The review confirms that unless SASDI steps in to provide coordination mechanisms between different spheres of government, the NMA will continue to supply unsuitable data and municipalities will be left to their own devices. A SASDI that caters for diverse user needs through bottom-up influences could greatly improve local municipalities’ service delivery. We have used the results of our study to propose a governance framework where all spheres of government are involved in SASDI and municipalities have an opportunity to communicate their data needs from the bottom, upward. DA - 2022 DB - ResearchSpace DP - CSIR J1 - International Journal of Spatial Data Infrastructures Research, 15 KW - South African Spatial Data Infrastructure KW - SASDI KW - Spatial data infrastructure KW - SDI KW - SDI evolution KW - Municipalities KW - Bottom-up SDI KW - Decentralised SDI KW - Municipal service delivery LK - https://researchspace.csir.co.za PY - 2022 SM - 1725-0463 T1 - The South African Spatial Data Infrastructure – Where are the Municipalities? TI - The South African Spatial Data Infrastructure – Where are the Municipalities? UR - http://hdl.handle.net/10204/12259 ER -25342