Civic technology
So where is SA on the open data journey?
Check up on government
SA is behind on its commitments to make "open data" more easily accessible to its citizens, despite having signed an undertaking to do so. The term "open data" refers to freely available and sharable public information. The argument behind the open data movement is that information about, for example, service provision, budgets, crime stats and population demographics, must be at hand (and needs to be scrutinised) to promote accountability and responsive governance. SA is a signatory to the Open Government Declaration, and has been a founding member of the Open Government Partnership since 2011. The partnership is a voluntary organisation that promotes commitment to open data, and the declaration calls on members to "increase the availability of information about governmental activities", "support civic participation", "promote administrative integrity", "increase access to new technologies for openness and accountability" and "lead by example" in these endeavours. The efforts are g...
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