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In a refreshing step aimed at improving transparency and accountability in the management of public finances, the National Treasury has made it easier for everyone to see how each municipality is spending local rates and taxes.
The Municipal Money portal has four years of data from 278 municipalities, with some interactive tools aimed at helping ratepayers make sense of the numbers and educational videos guiding residents on how they can have an impact on decision-making at local government level.
Although the portal isn’t strictly geared for people with no financial knowledge, as its overview suggests, it is nevertheless a welcome move in the right direction as it aims to promote citizen engagement and generally make it easier for people to exercise their democratic rights.
Website developers, graphic artists and others will have fun playing with the tables to provide fresh perspectives on local government finances.
Let’s hope a similar portal is established for the national picture, where indications are that corruption and state capture have swallowed taxpayers’ funds. Have a play at the municipal money portal here: https://municipaldata.treasury.gov.za/. – Jackie Cameron
Media Statement
National Treasury launches open local government financial data portal – “municipal money”
National Treasury is proud to launch “Municipal Money”, an open local government budget data portal which provides citizens and other stakeholders with access to comparable, verified information on the financial performance of each municipality. Municipal Money aims to promote transparency and citizen engagement through the visualization and ‘demystification’ of information about municipal spending.
The creation of this portal is in response to the commitment made by the Minister in his 2016 Budget speech to launch a data portal that will provide stakeholders with municipal financial information, in order to stimulate citizen involvement in local governance.
It is also in line with international best practice, in terms of which governments are increasingly opening up their data to the public and specifically budget data – to promote oversight, transparency and accountability.
South Africa has demonstrated its commitment to open government by cofounding and participating in the Open Government Partnership – a partnership of more than 69 countries committed to working together to develop and implement ambitious open government reforms.
Municipal Money is a user-friendly website that utilises a variety of media and tools to present key municipal financial information, and also to explain the related financial concepts and their relevance to citizens. The website is designed for an audience who may or may not have any financial knowledge or background, but also caters for the more data-savvy user who may want to trace and grapple with the actual datasets.
To this end, Municipal Money draws on the raw data from a linked database, which is now also available for anyone to view, download and re-use. In fact, it is envisaged that the raw data will be used by analysts or app developers in conjunction with other data sources to create innovative, interesting and valuable new applications for municipal financial data.
After engagements with civil society organisations in three cities, the portal has been developed in partnership with Code for South Africa, an NGO that promotes informed public decision-making using technology.
Municipal Money facilitates access to municipal financial data in a unique and empowering way.
In a first for South Africa, the public will now be able to access free, reliable, user-friendly financial information for every single municipality in South Africa – in one place, at the touch of their fingertips! This platform will in future months be augmented to include more than just financial information, and present wider sets of service delivery information including the geographical location and progress of planned infrastructure projects in communities.
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