Business Engineering

14/10/2026

In this episode of the !Engage Connected Communities podcast, Business Engineering speaks with Amogelang Leteane, Chief Financial Officer of (Khai-ma community) Khâi-Ma Municipality, about the realities of replacing a long-standing financial system.

Leteane explains that an ERP implementation is an organisational reform, not an IT project, and that change management, clean data and strong leadership matter as much as the software itself.

In this episode of the Engage Connected Communities podcast, Philip...

13/10/2026

Faried Manuel, Municipal Manager of Kareeberg Municipality, describes how migrating to the PhoenixERP system turned around their audit results. After a disclaimer of opinion in 2023/24, the municipality procured PhoenixERP for 2024/25 - and discovered that the Auditor-General now relies exclusively on system-generated data.

From debtor information to payables, auditors want everything traced back to the source within the system.

Manuel’s key insight: a clean audit starts with an ERP you can trust.

08/10/2026

In this episode of the !Engage Connected Communities podcast, Philip de Bruin speaks with Faried Manuel, Municipal Manager of Kareeberg Municipality, about the realities of compliance and accountability in local government.

Small municipalities must meet the same legislative demands as metros with a fraction of the staff and resources, and the right technology helps close that gap.



Watch:

In this episode of the Engage podcast, Philip speaks with Faried Ma...

06/10/2026

Brandon Groeneveld, Chief Building Control Officer at Swartland Municipality, walks through what the building plan approval process looks like today - and the difference digital transformation has made.

From application submission through town planning, fee calculation, payment, internal assessment, amendments and final decision - every step runs digitally through the Collaborator platform. Every step is structured, trackable and transparent. Applicants can see where their application is in the process. Departments receive and respond electronically. Decision-makers work from a complete, documented record.

The result is a process that is faster, more accountable and easier to do business with - exactly what municipalities should be delivering.

04/10/2026

Hessequa Municipality taking the lead with Herholdt's Group in Riversdal!

02/10/2026

Congratulations to Swartland Municipality on this incredible achievement - ranked the most financially sustainable municipality in South Africa at the Municipal Performance Awards!

Business Engineering and Collaborator are proud to be associated with Swartland and to support the systems behind this kind of excellence. Well deserved!

30/09/2026

Nicolette Brand, Manager Secretariat and Records Management at Swartland Municipality, makes a point that most municipalities are still working towards: treating information as a strategic resource of equal importance to people, money and infrastructure.

That decision was made at Swartland in 2004 when the municipality implemented Collaborator, Business Engineering's platform for records management, contract management, workflow automation and citizen engagement. The principle behind it has only become more relevant with time. Proper records management supports good governance, accountability, transparency, service delivery, legal compliance, audit readiness and public trust.

The most pressing reason Swartland is doubling down on this now is institutional memory. With many senior officials approaching retirement age, the knowledge, decisions and obligations they carry cannot leave with them. Collaborator ensures that records are created at the point of receipt, by all staff, so that nothing is lost when people move on.

The responsibility, as Nicolette makes clear, does not sit with one department. It sits with everyone.

22/09/2026

Swartland Municipality Municipal Manager, Joggie Scholtz, is direct: digital transformation is not an IT project. It is a leadership decision. Technology was never the goal - it became the enabler of better governance, better decision-making and improved service delivery. Today it is embedded in Swartland's organisational culture, enabling transparency, accountability and responsiveness across the institution.

The practical difference is visible. Processes that once required multiple visits to municipal offices now happen digitally. Applications are submitted online, progress is tracked electronically, and information is available far more quickly. The result is not just efficiency - it is trust, because residents and businesses can see exactly where their application stands.

None of it happened overnight. It took long-term commitment from council, management and officials, investment in people, a review of business processes before digitising them, and a sustained partnership with Business Engineering and Collaborator to implement technology that supports operational objectives - not simply replacing paper with computers.

18/09/2026

Feedback like this from practitioners on the ground is why we support this series. The conversations hosted go well beyond theory - they engage the real reform agenda that municipalities are navigating right now. 👏

Future Cities Africa and the Municipal Edge present the 5th Annual "Local Government Conversations" Webinar Series.