Development of a data model for semantic exploitation of municipality records in South Africa

A number of South African municipalities have embraced the use of advanced information technology to improve their services to citizens. However, this is not a common practice across the country; there are still municipalities within South Africa who have not automated their information systems for better service delivery to the public. This study develops a data model that can be applied by municipalities across South Africa as the basis for automating their information systems for service delivery. A combination of qualitative and quantitative methods is used. Preliminary data is collected using: (1) literature review, (2) observation at a selected local Municipality and (3) online related resources at two additional municipalities. The collected data is analysed and a generic conceptual municipality data model is drawn. Finally, the data model is further implemented in Oracle to create a test database for future Semantic Web processing.