How GIS is transforming municipal property management

Vuyo Mazabane, client consultant, AfriGIS.

Mapping technology helps identify state-owned land, track property ownership changes, and streamline planning and revenue collection. For South African municipalities struggling to overcome service delivery challenges, and meet infrastructure development needs, the technology provides a reliable solution for improving efficiency and accountability.

Identifying state-owned land and infrastructure planning

One of the key benefits of mapping technology is its ability to precisely identify state-owned land. This is vital for municipalities when planning infrastructure and housing developments. By pinpointing the exact locations of state-owned land, municipalities can effectively plan residential areas, converting informal settlements into formal neighbourhoods with essential infrastructure such as government subsidised RDP  houses, roads, and utilities.

For example, mapping technology allows municipalities to locate informal settlements on state-owned land and strategically plan their conversion into organised residential zones. This improves living conditions for residents and helps municipalities fulfil their service delivery mandates.

However, challenges arise when residents move away, leading to uncollected revenue and issues like electricity theft. A robust property management system can maintain accurate records of property responsibility, ensuring consistent service provision and revenue collection.

The challenge of title deeds

A major issue for South African municipalities in peri-urban and rural areas  is the lack of title deeds for many properties. Without proper ownership documentation, municipalities struggle to collect rates and taxes, essential for maintaining infrastructure and providing services. Inherited properties often lack updated title deeds, complicating revenue collection efforts. This problem is widespread, with many properties missing clear ownership records, leading to services being provided without corresponding revenue collection.

For instance, when a resident inherits a property without a title deed, the billing remains in the deceased owner's name. This complicates the municipality's ability to collect rates and taxes, impacting both revenue collection and infrastructure planning. Accurate property records are necessary for planning and maintaining roads, utilities, and other services. Mapping technology can help address these issues by linking addresses to land parcels and title deeds, ensuring that ownership records are up-to-date and accurate.

Success stories

Several municipalities have successfully implemented mapping technology, proving its potential to drive socio-economic development. A notable example is a project AfriGIS undertook which enabled our client to accurately identify state- and privately-owned land. This capability has enhanced land management, planning, and development, ensuring more efficient and transparent governance, while also avoiding conflicts with private property owners in the region.

Mapping technology helps identify state-owned land, track property ownership changes, and streamline planning and revenue collection.

In a local municipality, our implementation of a GIS solution linked addresses to land parcels and deeds, resolving property disputes and ensuring compliance with building regulations. This system also facilitated the collection of appropriate rates and taxes, enhancing overall governance and service delivery. By providing a clear record of property ownership and status, municipalities could enforce regulations, plan infrastructure development, and improve service delivery to residents.

Future applications

Looking ahead, the potential applications of mapping technology in property management are vast. Government entities will be better able to maintain and understand their properties. By identifying and utilising state-owned buildings instead of leasing from private companies, they can save costs and improve efficiency. This technology will also enable better management of state-owned farms, allowing the government to lease these properties to private companies while retaining ownership and generating revenue.

Mapping technology can also facilitate the issuing of title deeds, enabling residents to pay rates and taxes and thereby increasing municipal revenue. This will lead to better service delivery, improved planning, and more sustainable development. Governments will be able to monitor new developments, plan infrastructure, and ensure compliance with property regulations, ultimately benefiting municipalities and residents.

For instance, the government can use mapping technology to identify underutilised state-owned buildings and repurpose them for public use. This could include converting vacant buildings into affordable housing, community centres, or other public facilities.

In agriculture, mapping technology can help the government lease state-owned farms to private companies while retaining ownership. In addition to generating revenue, this can also ensure that the land is used optimally for agricultural production. By maintaining control over state-owned agricultural land, the government can promote sustainable farming practices and support local food production.

Successful implementations have shown its potential, and future applications will further transform municipal property management. Local government representatives must be encouraged to apply mapping solutions to improve service delivery, infrastructure planning, and sustainable development – in the interests of enhancing residents' quality of life and creating more resilient communities.

About AfriGIS

AfriGIS is the leading Geospatial Information Science company in Southern Africa that specialises in location-sensitive data and solutions. It provides customers across the board with a suite of web-based tools and APIs to connect to, enhance, and enrich their own data with location intelligence, insights, and trusted data. The organisation was founded in 1997 and celebrates more than 27 years in business. It is a level 1-certified broad-based black economic empowerment (B-BBEE) business, with more than 100 employees, in Pretoria, Durban and Cape Town in South Africa, Dublin in Ireland, and Dhaka in Bangladesh.