Embedding The Fourth Industrial Revolution (4IR) in South African Municipalities: Challenges and Prospects

Abstract

In South Africa, the current technology has brought multitudes of changes and transformations to the public sector and service delivery. The current state of technology allows municipalities to carry out their duties using ICT platforms successfully. E-participation, e-services, citizen portals, digital city services and goods, broadband fibre rollouts, CCTV networks, data center infrastructure, and private cloud solutions are just a few of these endeavours. The lack of integration of the smart city plan into the IDP, insufficient internal ability to support and sustain projects, and other issues may prohibit most municipalities from effectively adopting 4IR programs. limited support from a broader range of stakeholders, such as workers, communities, labourers, and businesses Among municipal departments, there is a lack of linked and coordinated thinking and activities. This study aims to assess how well the 4IR has worked to improve municipal service delivery. It is concluded that towns may be able to fully integrate modern technologies with the incorporation of 4IR technology into municipal IDP. In order to do this, a number of strategies are suggested, and a theoretical framework for the phenomena is investigated, with the goal of addressing the issues that prevent the proper application of 4IR technologies in South African Municipalities.