Starting in July, the municipality will be using cellphone technology to tell residents about water outages – and residents will be able to use the same mobile platform to log their complaints about water.
Starting in July, the municipality will be using cellphone technology to tell residents about water outages – and residents will be able to use the same mobile platform to log their complaints about water.
MobiSAM is a project developed by the Rhodes-based Mobility Research Group in a partnership with Makana Municipality.
"It provides a platform to support a dialogue between residents and Makana Municipality around water service delivery," explained project co-ordinator Hannah Thinyane.
"When the project starts in July, residents will be able to use their cellphones to inform the municipality of problems they are experiencing with their water, such as: no water; problems with the quality of the water; or problems with the water pressure.
"From the Municipality’s side, results will be collated and can be visualised to show areas that are experiencing the most problems, so they can act accordingly.
"Makana Municipality will also use MobiSAM as a communication tool to inform residents of planned outages, and to provide information on unplanned outages."
To receive these updates, residents need to register on MobiSAM by visiting the website, www.mobisam.net and following the link to the registration page.
Although the project starts next month, the site is already open for registration.
For help using the system, email help@mobisam.net, or call/SMS/PCM the MobiSAM help number, 078 935 7502.
MobiSAM is a multi-disciplinary research group hosted by the Department of Computer Science at Rhodes University, and funded by the Ford Foundation.
