Keyuren Maharaj, a final-year mechanical engineering student at the University of KwaZulu-Natal, has developed the CityMenderSA app to track infrastructure issues across South Africa. The tool allows residents to log problems like potholes and water leaks using their phones, providing a national map of service delivery failures and fixes. Since its launch seven months ago, it has recorded 2,700 faults nationwide.
Keyuren Maharaj created CityMenderSA after growing frustrated with ongoing complaints about service delivery in eThekwini, such as water leaks, broken streetlights, and potholes. As a Durban resident, he helped establish the Glenwood Ratepayers Association but sought a more systematic approach than protests or informal sharing on social media. 'It’s no use for a ratepayer association to tell everyone what they already know and then tell the City the same thing,' Maharaj said. 'We’ve heard about all the problems. Now we need to find solutions.'
The app, patented by Maharaj, enables users to report issues via geotagged photos without needing to know ward boundaries; it automatically assigns reports to the correct municipality. Available on iOS, Android, and the CityMenderSA website since this month, the platform has logged 2,700 faults over seven months, with 44% related to potholes. In the past week alone, 180 users reported 220 issues. The average resolution time across municipalities stands at 101 days, covering priorities like streetlights, water, waste, roads, public health, parks, and power outages.
CityMenderSA uses artificial intelligence to analyze uploaded images, such as estimating pothole sizes and repair costs or calculating water waste from leaks. Users track issues via reference numbers, with updates sent through WhatsApp or email. Maharaj notes that while some municipalities have their own logging systems, CityMenderSA provides independent verification and a live national map. 'Visibility is accountability, particularly in a system where data is often fragmented or siloed,' he stated. 'I want this system to turn complaints into infrastructure intelligence.'
An example of its effectiveness: on 9 January, a sinkhole in Durban was reported at 9:38 and repaired by eThekwini at 12:49, viewable publicly. The platform is used by private security firms in eThekwini, and Maharaj plans daily reports to metro municipalities and weekly ones to others. Starting without corporate support, Maharaj coded most of it himself after self-teaching via YouTube. He has also proposed a South African Public Infrastructure Technology Standard for better governance.
