New game puts players in charge of a South African municipality

Keyuren Maharaj with his CityMenderSA app.

For those who have ever wondered why municipalities struggle to get the basics right, Keyuren Maharaj has a challenge: “Try running one yourself.”

Maharaj, the founder behind the CityMender service-delivery tracking platform, has developed a new simulation game that puts players in charge of a virtual South African municipality, complete with the infrastructure headaches, competing demands and financial juggling familiar to anyone who has watched local government in action.

The game launches free through the CityMender app on Wednesday, offering players a chance to discover whether they have the makings of a municipal manager or whether their dream city will collapse before the end of the month.

“Service delivery is a serious subject, and understandably so, because it affects our everyday lives. But can we have a little fun with it while helping people understand it better?

“Most of us know what we want our municipality to deliver, but we do not necessarily see everything it takes to keep it running. You’re managing money, infrastructure, departments and residents’ expectations, often with several things going wrong at once. It can become quite stressful, even in the game,” Maharaj said.

Players begin with a small town of houses, shops, parks and municipal facilities. As they progress, they unlock new areas, including Siyakhula, an informal settlement, a central business district and The Hills, a residential suburb. Each presents its own challenges.

In Siyakhula, players must work with a community committee to improve water points, sanitation, drainage, lighting and household connections. 

In the CBD, the priority is keeping businesses occupied and ensuring reliable municipal services support economic activity and employment. The Hills introduces another feature of South African urban life, which is Special Rating Areas and Urban Improvement Precincts, similar to structures associated with places such as Umhlanga and Florida Road, as well as efforts towards establishing a Musgrave UIP.

“The idea is to mimic how a municipality works as closely as we reasonably can, while keeping it easy to play.

“I had never developed a game before, but I’ve spent a lot of time working on CityMender and dealing with service-delivery issues. I took inspiration from different simulation games, but wanted to create something with a distinctly African identity. The map was important to me. I wanted it to look attractive and feel alive, while being quick to load and straightforward to navigate,” said Maharaj.

He believes South Africans will enjoy playing the game.

“I’m really looking forward to seeing how people use it, what decisions they make, what surprises them and what ideas they bring back to us.”

“With elections approaching, there is a lot of attention on who will run our municipalities. But public participation continues after voting day. It includes reporting problems, asking questions, attending meetings and following up on commitments. The game gives people another way to engage with those questions. Understanding the complexity should help us ask better questions and hold decision-makers accountable,” he said.