The City’s new and innovative Quick Response (QR) code project in the Bosasa Phase 2 Incremental Development Area in Mfuleni has been making good progress. More than 1 000 structures have been marked with a Quick Response (QR) code, which will enhance data capturing and planning to assist residents with greater direct access to services and emergency support, providing them with formal addresses required for opening bank accounts, for credit and grants and registering on the job seekers database among others.
This new pilot project, which is the first of its kind in South Africa aims to help residents in informal settlements managed by the City with enhanced access to services and helps them with requirements for opening up bank accounts, registering for grants or seeking employment. It will also assist the City with its data for planning and budget purposes and to enhance service delivery.
Members of the City’s Informal Settlements Department as well as the Executive Director for Human Settlements, Nolwandle Gqiba, visited the Bosasa Phase 2 development to hand over Certificates of Residence to residents as well as to look at the progress being made.
‘Residents received physical copies of the residence certificates for their records and the certificates are also stored online and are linked to the resident’s electronic profile. The City thanks residents for working with us and we look forward to rolling out this project in other areas in the future.
‘The first phase of the project saw 1 000 structures within the area marked and numbered with a unique QR code and City specific paint. Field maps were created to indicate the associated number of each structure. This phase was successfully completed in June 2022. The City is very excited about this new method of socio-economic surveys.
‘The Certificate of Residence does not have the legal status of a title deed, but will assist a resident’s economic standing. It provides a formal address to the resident, which is required for opening bank accounts and applying for credit, and is helpful for accessing grants and registering on job-seeker databases among others. City Informal Settlements Department officials carry out regular visits to informal settlements under its management and this initiative is taking our delivery of services to the next level.
‘The residents can scan their QR Code from their Certificate of Residence, and send it to us via their phones or WhatsApp and the City will be able to interact immediately. This project will test new technologies so that we may continue to provide the best possible services to our residents, including attending to blocked drains and responding to instances of flooding.
‘Before the project was carried out, our teams commenced on an education drive and visited residents to inform them about the benefits of registering their personal details and to provide insight around their rights and legal protections. This QR coding system is only used for City-registered households in areas formally developed and managed by the City’s Informal Settlement’s Management Department,’ said the City’s Mayoral Committee Member for Human Settlements, Councillor Malusi Booi.