THE South African Local Government Association (SALGA) has introduced a social media platform that allows councillors to respond quickly to questions raised by citizens.

GovChat allows residents to send images, photos, videos, public and private messages in real time, directly to their ward councillors.

Through the use of GovChat, it is hoped that it will become easier to address some of the problems that have led to the growth of service delivery protests. GovChat is currently available as a web application and citizens can register as users on www.govchat.org.za. The platform will be available on Android and iOS devices in future.

Government says service will improve for the better as councillors will be at the frontline of providing instant and credible information to the people they serve. GovChat aims to break barriers of communication and support civic engagement.

However, since the launch of the platform, Durban North and uMhlanga ward councillors, Shaun Ryley and Heinz de Boer, have not heard of it.

• Active social media users is growing at a rate of over 10 per cent year-on-year in South Africa. On average, South Africans spend just under three hours a day on the internet and social media using their mobile phones.