An advocacy organization rejected a mayoral performance assessment released on Friday as fundamentally unreliable because it depended almost exclusively on social media activity rather than direct input from residents. The Centre for Alternative Information RSA stated, through representative Sibusiso Mazibuko, on Monday, that the South African Mayors Report represents nothing more than algorithmic noise disconnected from actual community experiences with local government services.
DataEQ compiled the document by examining over 700,000 online references and sampling roughly 39,000 posts from platforms such as X and Facebook. The analysis placed Tshwane leader Nasiphi Moya at the top while ranking Nelson Mandela Bay head Babalwa Lobishe at the bottom. The centre argued this approach ignores rural populations and non-English speakers while giving undue weight to automated accounts and partisan activists. Officials noted the study deliberately excluded content from municipal pages, removing factual achievements from consideration.
Mazibuko emphasized that legitimate public opinion emerges from ward meetings and neighborhood interactions where citizens observe infrastructure repairs and safety improvements firsthand. ActionSA praised the ranking system as evidence of effective governance, though critics maintain that such digital assessments oversimplify service delivery challenges across South African metropolitan areas.
DataEQ compiled the document by examining over 700,000 online references and sampling roughly 39,000 posts from platforms such as X and Facebook. The analysis placed Tshwane leader Nasiphi Moya at the top while ranking Nelson Mandela Bay head Babalwa Lobishe at the bottom. The centre argued this approach ignores rural populations and non-English speakers while giving undue weight to automated accounts and partisan activists. Officials noted the study deliberately excluded content from municipal pages, removing factual achievements from consideration.
Mazibuko emphasized that legitimate public opinion emerges from ward meetings and neighborhood interactions where citizens observe infrastructure repairs and safety improvements firsthand. ActionSA praised the ranking system as evidence of effective governance, though critics maintain that such digital assessments oversimplify service delivery challenges across South African metropolitan areas.
