GIS Day allows councillors to get bigger picture

15 November 2016

 

The City of Johannesburg on Monday November 14 marked Geographic Information Systems (GIS) Day by taking 100 councillors through a highly informative induction course focusing on everything from property zoning and spatial planning to the importance of street addresses and the role of maps and how all this fits into the billing process, property evaluation and transfers.

 

GIS Day, which has been observed internationally since 1999, is a global forum for users of geographic information systems technology to demonstrate real-world applications that make a difference in society.

This is the ninth year that the City has celebrated GIS Day, hosted annually by the Corporate Geo Information Systems (CGIS) Department. The department also offers imagery such as aerial photography, satellite images and 3D building models. It combines geographic and other types of data to determine property values and classification. It also produces maps and reports for all areas and works closely with the Deeds Office and the City’s Revenue Department.

It also specialises in capturing and maintaining databases containing stand and township information, proposed townships information, aerial photography, street addresses, zoning information, administrative boundaries and topographical information.

“The councillors are here to familiarise themselves with the maps of their wards, the suburbs, streets and properties in those areas,” said CGIS Director Marcelle Hattingh.

“This is important because they have to communicate with their communities, explain how things work and help resolve disputes. Streets with no names or numbers, or those with undesirable names, are an emotional topic. Street addresses are very important because we need an address to vote, open a bank account and for municipal billing purposes,” said Hattingh.

The course was well received by councillors. Cllr Yoliswa Twala, a proportional representation councillor, said she had learnt a lot during the course, especially in how to handle encroachment, a huge challenge in places such as Ivory Park in the City’s Region A.

“Illegal buildings, land invasion and encroachment are huge problems. There are no quick solutions but the City needs quicker turnaround times on queries and this information session will go a long way,” Cllr Twala said.

Cllr Caleb Finn, whose ward includes Florida, Fleurhof and three informal settlements, said: “Mine is a diverse ward and this information will come in handy. There are a lot of challenges but they are not insurmountable.”

Cllr Pam Sibanyoni, who represents Dlamini and Kliptown in Soweto, said further training on how to access the City’s database to help their communities resolve issues such as housing, street names and other challenges would help.