COVID-19 and E-Governance: Lessons from South Africa

This report examines the acceleration of e-governance and the use of social media by governments during the COVID-19 pandemic, with a specific focus on South Africa's digital innovations and the broader challenges facing the African continent.

• The COVID-19 pandemic triggered a 'COVID-19-induced digital acceleration' in public service delivery, as governments relied on social media and digital platforms to maintain essential functions when physical activities were restricted.
• While global internet and social media usage grew between July 2019 and July 2020 (by 8.2% and 10.5% respectively), a significant digital divide persists in Africa, where an estimated 870 million people lacked internet access as of January 2020.
• Social media serves as a critical tool for 'epidemic intelligence,' allowing health authorities to detect disease outbreaks through informal sources and predictive mapping before they appear in formal hospital records.
• South Africa implemented several digital innovations during the pandemic, including a COVID-19 WhatsApp chatbot developed by Praekelt.org and the 'COVID Alert SA' smartphone app launched in September 2020 for anonymous digital contact tracing via Bluetooth.
• Despite its innovations, South Africa faces a digital divide; as of January 2020, internet penetration was 62% and social media penetration was only 37%, meaning e-government services via social media do not reach a wide proportion of the population.
• The report identifies significant obstacles to e-governance in Africa, including government-led internet shutdowns—such as a 472-day shutdown in Chad between 2018 and 2019—and the proliferation of fake news.

APA

BOSMAN, I. (2021). COVID-19 and E-Governance: Lessons from South Africa. South African Institute of International Affairs. https://saiia.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/Policy-Insights-100-bosman.pdf

Chicago

BOSMAN, ISABEL. COVID-19 and E-Governance: Lessons from South Africa. South African Institute of International Affairs, 2021. https://saiia.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/Policy-Insights-100-bosman.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=BOSMAN |first1=ISABEL |title=COVID-19 and E-Governance: Lessons from South Africa |publisher=South African Institute of International Affairs |date=February 2021 |url=https://saiia.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/Policy-Insights-100-bosman.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{bosman2021covid19, author = {BOSMAN, ISABEL}, title = {{COVID-19 and E-Governance: Lessons from South Africa}}, institution = {South African Institute of International Affairs}, year = {2021}, month = feb, url = {https://saiia.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/Policy-Insights-100-bosman.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }