Open Data is becoming a hot initiative in many parts of Africa.

Such platforms, if properly structured, allow an unprecedented level of collaboration between citizens and government. As Jay Naidoo, writing for Daily Maverick, points out, the question is whether political leaders are ready to listen. He cites a variety of examples from South Africa, but also initiatives like Code4Kenya. Also important is the misconception that open data is synonymous with government data (it is not).

In particular, a couple of lines from the article stand out:

We have the ability to restore the social contract and rebuild the trust and confidence of our people in democracy.”

It is time to move from the rich experience and knowledge generated by the various stakeholders to concrete action on citizen engagement that leads to more effective development results.”

Commenters also mentioned open data initiatives Open Knowledge Foundation South Africa and Code for South Africa.