MIRA 2025 Celebrates Innovation in Local Government, Launches R3M Support Fund

Deputy Minister Gina, in her keynote address, did not mince words about the urgent need for change in municipal operations.

Municipalities across South Africa are being encouraged to place innovation at the heart of local governance, with a renewed push for technological advancement and smarter service delivery models. This message was powerfully underscored at the 2nd Municipal Innovation Recognition Awards (MIRA) held in Durban on Monday, where Deputy Minister of Science, Technology, and Innovation Nomalungelo Gina urged municipalities to adopt new technologies and foster a culture of innovation to meet the persistent challenges of local service delivery.

The awards, organized by the Department of Science, Technology and Innovation (DSTI) in partnership with the University of KwaZulu-Natal (UKZN) and the South African Local Government Association (SALGA), recognized trailblazing municipalities for their forward-thinking initiatives.

Innovation: A Necessity, Not a Luxury

Deputy Minister Gina, in her keynote address, did not mince words about the urgent need for change in municipal operations. Citing recent reports from the Auditor-General that highlighted widespread underperformance in local government, she emphasized that business-as-usual approaches have failed to yield progress, especially in underserved and rural areas.

“Innovation allows us to leapfrog to better outcomes. New technologies disrupt the status quo, reduce costs, and streamline processes, ultimately empowering citizens and restoring public trust in local government,” she said.

She stressed that innovation must not be seen as a luxury for large urban metros, but rather as a core requirement for all municipalities, regardless of size or location.

MIRA: Honouring Local Government Trailblazers

The Municipal Innovation Recognition Awards (MIRA) were established to spotlight municipalities that are deploying creative, scalable solutions to improve essential services such as water provision, waste management, infrastructure coordination, and citizen engagement.

The awards are informed by the Municipal Innovation Maturity Index (MIMI)—a decision-support tool introduced in 2021 that assesses the innovation capacity and maturity of municipalities. In 2025, a total of 57 towns participated in the MIMI rollout, with every participating municipality recognized for their efforts.

Key Honourees:

• City of Cape Town received the prestigious Trailblazing Innovation Award for its Digital Wayleave Management System—a centralized digital platform that consolidates all permissions related to infrastructure development, drastically cutting down red tape and improving planning efficiency.

• Special Recognition Awards for achieving Innovation Maturity Level 4 went to:

  • City of Tshwane

  • eThekwini Municipality

  • Emalahleni Municipality

  • Waterberg District Municipality These municipalities demonstrated structured, well-managed, and institutionalized innovation processes.

• Promising Department-Level Innovations were recognized in:

  • Vhembe District

  • Modimolle-Mookgopong

  • uMgungundlovu District These municipalities showcased innovation within specific departments, indicating early-stage but repeatable and scalable efforts.

“This recognition should inspire others to embark on their innovation journeys,” said Gina. “In the future, we want to see all municipalities reaching the required innovation threshold.”

Municipal Innovation Fund (MIF): A Game-Changing Support Mechanism

A key milestone of the event was the official launch of the Municipal Innovation Fund (MIF)—a new funding instrument created to support municipalities in developing and scaling innovative projects that drive measurable community impact.

Managed by the Technology Innovation Agency (TIA) under the DSTI, the MIF will offer grants of up to R3 million per project to qualifying municipalities. Funding will focus on:

• Technologies that improve service delivery

• Solutions that are evidence-based and community-driven

• Projects that can scale regionally or nationally

Eligibility Requirements:

• Municipalities must achieve at least Level 4 on the MIMI scale

• Demonstrated sound governance and clean audit outcomes

• Projects must be managed through dedicated accounts with clear financial oversight and progress reporting

The launch of the fund signals a major step toward institutionalizing innovation within the local governance framework.

A Platform for Collaboration and Inspiration

The MIRA 2025 ceremony featured an impressive lineup of leaders and stakeholders, including:

• SALGA President Councillor Bheke Stofile

• eThekwini Mayor Cyril Xaba

• Deputy Minister of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs, Dr Namane Dickson Masemola

• Representatives from the University of KwaZulu-Natal and other academic institutions

Each speaker emphasized the role of partnerships, capacity building, and knowledge sharing in sustaining innovation at the local level. They reiterated the importance of creating platforms where municipalities can learn from one another, pilot new approaches, and embed innovative thinking into their daily operations.

---

Looking Ahead: Building an Innovation-Ready Local Government Sector

The 2025 MIRA Awards underscored the belief that innovation is not a one-off project but a continuous process of learning, adaptation, and collaboration. Deputy Minister Gina closed by calling for municipalities to “transform their culture” and integrate smarter tools and evidence-based approaches as the new standard for governance.

As the DSTI rolls out the MIF and continues to promote the MIMI framework, the goal is clear: to build a local government ecosystem that is agile, efficient, and responsive to the changing needs of South African communities.