Inspiration
As the elections of 2024 in South Africa have been characterized by chaos and confusion. We, as a team, asked ourselves, "Is this the only power we have to change and better our communities?". We couldn't allow that to be the case and created Mzansi Wethu as a way to have a voice outside our votes and hold our officials accountable.
What it does
It is a web app that equips citizens with accurate, timely and accessible information from the government. This is crucial as citizens would have an easy-to-use app that uses visuals and simple language to convey the often complex jargon used in governance. The web app will also include a feature allowing citizens to report issues with a specific focus on infrastructure, occurring in their communities.
How we built it
For frontend: HTML, CSS and JavaScript For Databases: MySQL workbench, PostgreSQL and pgAdmin APIs and Security: Google Maps API
Challenges we ran into
The were similar projects we found however they've died out or weren't know to the general population. The challenge for us was to design our web app for sustainable and long-term use that will actually affect change and be used by the community.
Accomplishments that we're proud of
We are proud of the fact we have developed an innovative idea that has the potential to change how South African and African view governance and accountability.
What we learned
- How to do thorough research and assess similar products/ competitors. -The extensive options available for creating webapps
- How consider accessibility when designing our product
What's next for Mzansi Wethu
- Zero-Rating: The web app could be zero-rated ensuring users can access it without data charges, a significant advantage in South Africa where data costs are high.
- Communication Channels: Utilizing SMS and WhatsApp to allow the app to disseminate important information to a broad audience effectively and more accessibly (particularly to less computer literate demographics).
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