Gina names innovation award winners as auditor-general flags municipal failures

Deputy Minister of Science, Technology and Innovation Nomalungelo Gina has recognised a group of municipalities for using technology to improve services, but warned that many local authorities still resist the changes needed to fix poor audit outcomes.

Speaking at the Municipal Innovation Recognition Awards (MIRA) in Durban on Monday, Gina said the awards were about encouraging a shift towards innovation in local government, not about pretending that all municipalities are performing well.

“We have seen the reports from the Auditor-General about the municipalities’ performances, which do not paint a good picture,” she said, according to a government statement. “Many will ask why the MIRA still sees anything good in some of these municipalities to deserve these awards. The answer is that our focus. is the municipalities’ pivot towards embracing innovation and technology.”

A push for smarter systems

The awards, held in partnership with the University of KwaZulu-Natal, the Department of Science, Technology and Innovation (DSTI), the Municipal Innovation Maturity Index (MIMI) and the South African Local Government Association (SALGA), aim to reward municipalities that adopt smart-city tools and digital systems.

Gina said the DSTI wants to see more municipalities using technology to streamline services such as water, sanitation, electricity and waste management. She cited examples such as pay-as-you-go water systems, which she said empower residents to manage their own consumption and reduce disputes over inaccurate billing, and digital platforms that allow ratepayers to pay accounts, update property valuations and get instant responses to queries.

“Innovation leads to the effective delivery of basic services,” she said. “Municipalities that adopt technological solutions reduce costs in delivering services because technology tends to streamline processes, without human error.”

Rural municipalities lagging

The deputy minister singled out rural municipalities for lagging behind in adopting new ways of working. She rejected the idea that a lack of revenue or dependence on grants is the main obstacle.

“From our perspective, as the Department of Science, Technology, and Innovation, the problem is not a revenue shortage, but rather a lack of creativity among senior officials at the municipal level,” she said.

She urged municipalities to partner with government agencies such as the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) and the Technology Innovation Agency (TIA), which she said have world-class innovative solutions available.

“No municipality can have an excuse for lacking assistance, given that world-class government agencies are in place,” she said.

What it means for residents

For ordinary South Africans, the push for municipal innovation is about whether the basics work: water that flows, bills that make sense, and queries that get answered. The awards highlight municipalities that are trying new approaches, but the deputy minister’s own remarks acknowledge that the overall picture from the auditor-general remains weak.

The DSTI has pledged to support municipalities in transitioning to more innovative and technology-driven operations, in line with its Decadal Plan on science, technology and innovation. Gina also called on SALGA to work more closely with the department.

“This should inspire those who are still behind to embark on this journey in their municipalities,” she said. “In the future, we will want to have all municipalities qualify in terms of criteria, which is based on their adoption of an innovative culture and infusion of technologies into their business processes.”

The winners of the 2025 awards were not named in the government statement. The full list of recognised municipalities is expected to be published by the Department of Science, Technology and Innovation. The key question now is whether the recognition translates into wider adoption of the tools that the awards are meant to promote.

Source: South African Government, gov.za