Building Smart Cities Booklet Web

Introduction

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The Gauteng Premier on his state of the Province address detailed Gauteng’s 13 problems, this document is a response to the Premiers clarion call to resolve these problems. The National Department of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs’ Smart Cities Framework (2021) serves as a cornerstone for fostering smart urban development across South Africa. This strategic guide equips municipalities, provincial and national governments, and key stakeholders with evidence-based insights and principles to design, implement, and manage innovative urban environments. Building on this national framework, the Gauteng Department of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs (COGTA), in partnership with the Gauteng Department of Infrastructure Development (DID) and the Gauteng Infrastructure Financing Agency (GIFA), has crafted a strategy to transform the Gauteng City Region (GCR) into a globally competitive smart city region. This plan channels resources and efforts into a coordinated, technology-driven approach to urban development, tailored to Gauteng’s unique challenges and opportunities. This strategy responds directly to the Gauteng Premier Hon. Panyaza Lesufi’s State of the Province Address on February 24, 2025, where he outlined the 7th Administration’s vision and called for decisive action to tackle Gauteng’s Thirteen Problems. These include persistent poverty and deprivation in Townships, Informal Settlements, and Hostels (TISH areas), the accelerating decay of old Central Business Districts (CBDs), and other pressing urban challenges. The Premier has directed COGTA, DID, and GIFA to operate as a unified entity under a single Member of the Executive Council (MEC), harmonizing their expertise to deliver on the aspirations of Gauteng’s nearly 16 million residents. At the heart of this initiative lies COGTA’s mandate: to coordinate effective local government, champion integrated development planning, and strengthen participatory democracy to accelerate service delivery. By embedding smart city principles—such as digital connectivity, sustainable infrastructure, and inclusive growth—this strategy reimagines the Gauteng City Region as a relevant, adaptive and future-ready urban ecosystem. It addresses immediate socio-economic needs while laying the foundation for long-term prosperity, aligning with the Premier’s vision and the

national smart cities agenda. The Gauteng Department of Infrastructure Development derives its mandate from the law and is responsible for championing socio economic infrastructure delivery, investment, and management in GPG. It also serves as the custodian and portfolio manager of all immovable assets vested within GPG under the Government Immovable Asset Management Act (2007) (GIAMA). Additionally, the department coordinates poverty alleviation and job creation initiatives through the implementation of the Expanded Public Works Programme (EPWP) and measures the contribution of socio-economic infrastructure spending to the GPG economy. The GIFA is mandated to support provincial departments and municipalities with planning, management, and other technical expertise to roll out infrastructure more efficiently and effectively; and to address challenges around infrastructure delivery capacity and skills where it lacks in government. The Agency facilitates and coordinates alternative funding means for key strategic economic infrastructure projects and develops strategic social infrastructure projects for funding through the fiscus. Ensuring upkeep, planning and development of new infrastructure by the DID at times proves challenging due to insufficient resources. The GIFA is well positioned to align with market funders and entities that allow for alternative and innovative financing mechanisms to deliver on same infrastructure requirements, where the fiscus doesn’t not allow. This tripartite governance under a single MEC intends to deliver based on the key strengths of each department; lending itself to the effective, equitable delivery of Infrastructure in the Province for the good of the economy and its citizens. The cooperative nature of work in the COGTA and its already established structures within Municipalities would serve to enhance the efficacy of the Smart Cities strategy. This through coordinated, multidisciplinary teams to see to delivery of social and economic infrastructure employing appropriate technologies and systems as enablers. The Smart Cities initiative is rooted in the Gauteng Growth and Development Strategy 2030 (GGT 2030) and the Transformation, Modernisation, and Reindustrialisation (TMR) Strategy, which aim to drive economic growth, improve service delivery, and enhance residents’ quality of life through innovative urban solutions. By leveraging digital technologies, data-driven governance, and

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