Municipalities that fail to adopt practical innovations to improve service delivery should be held accountable, the vice-chancellor of the North-West University (NWU) says.

Prof. Bismark Tyobeka says artificial intelligence offers real opportunities to improve how municipalities work, from detecting water leaks to exposing corruption. But he warns that some officials resist new technology for the wrong reasons.

“They need to be held accountable because, sometimes, they fail to embrace innovation for malicious reasons,” Tyobeka says.

The principal spoke ahead of South Africa’s municipal elections, placing how councils use public money and deliver services at the centre of the debate.

AI can help with basic tasks

Tyobeka says municipalities do not need advanced digital systems to use AI for practical tasks like payroll and accounts receivable. He argues that a lack of skills should not become an excuse for ignoring tools that could help councils do their jobs better.

“We incur costs, sometimes deliberately, because people want to benefit their friends,” he says.

In some cases, resistance to innovation serves the interests of people who profit from broken systems, he adds.

The vice-chancellor points to several areas where AI could make a difference. Municipalities could use it to detect water leaks and electricity theft, monitor payments and predict when infrastructure needs maintenance.

“We can also use AI models for predictive maintenance, so that municipalities can plan when equipment or infrastructure components need to be replaced,” Tyobeka explains.

Instead of waiting for infrastructure to fail, councils could use these models to plan maintenance schedules and anticipate when components might need attention.

Basics must come first

But Tyobeka cautions that AI cannot fix municipalities that have failed to get the basics right.

“AI can enable a municipality’s rescue and renewal, but you need to get the basics in place,” he says. “You need qualified people, policies and processes, the requisite computer infrastructure and access to connectivity.”

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With those foundations in place, AI could handle routine administrative work, including payroll, meeting management and tracking money owed to municipalities. It could also flag irregularities that need investigation.

“If you do not have the basics in place, no technology can assist,” he stresses.

Fighting corruption with technology

Tyobeka identifies procurement as another area where AI could strengthen oversight. Tender processes follow defined steps and criteria, creating opportunities to flag bids that do not meet requirements.

“AI can be used as one of the tools to help combat municipal corruption,” he notes.

The technology could go beyond assessing bids to examine payments, payroll records and financial reconciliations for suspicious patterns.

Municipalities need to be held accountable because, sometimes, they fail to embrace innovation for malicious reasons.

“Sometimes the corruption we see in municipalities involves people being paid for doing nothing – ghost employees,” Tyobeka explains. “In financial reconciliations, you can quickly pick up the outliers, and that raises questions.”

But he warns that exposing an irregularity does not guarantee action. Municipal leaders must be willing to investigate what these systems reveal and act on the findings.

“You also need ethical leadership that will have the courage to question some of the things AI helps you to unearth. Otherwise, it remains a tool, and it ultimately needs a human being to take it to the finishing line,” he says.

“AI cannot deliver accountability and consequence management for you. That part must be done by the leadership.”

Digital divide threatens progress

Tyobeka also warns that technological progress risks leaving communities behind unless South Africa addresses gaps in connectivity and education.

Rural and township schools without reliable internet access cannot develop the skills the country needs, he says.

“We need human capacity to help us harness the power of AI. Meanwhile, that human capacity is among those we have left behind in schools without internet connectivity,” Tyobeka cautions.

Building that capacity and pursuing innovation must happen together, he says.

“The task is urgent. We need to get our basic education system in order and strengthen the pipeline through to higher education.”

As municipalities face renewed scrutiny ahead of the elections, Tyobeka’s message is clear: adopting technology carries a responsibility to act. Leaders must pursue practical improvements and respond when those tools expose wrongdoing.

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