The majority of the country is now living, communicating, and problem-solving online, writes Gugu Nyanda, who leads the Health and Public Service business at Accenture South Africa.
She shares insights into what this shift means for how institutions deliver services.
According to recent research, at the end of 2025, close to 80% (51,7 million people) were active internet users.
Around 69% of South Africa’s internet users go online through their mobile devices, supported by mobile‑phone access in over 97% of households across the country.
As data costs continue to fall, these digital citizens are spending more time online finding services, engaging with them, using them, and most importantly, forming opinions about their quality across many sectors on a daily basis.
These numbers tell us that service design should start with a mobile-first approach. They also provide an insight into the lives of real South Africans.
People expect digital services to be simple and reliable, to work quickly and smoothly on their phones, whether they are commuting, on a lunch break, or waiting in line. With these patterns already evident in the private sector across retail and banking, the same expectations now apply to essential services that shape a person’s wellbeing, livelihood, identity, and access to opportunity.
This shift creates a clear message for leaders: South Africans have moved first, and institutions must catch up.
What the digital citizen expects
Digital citizens increasingly expect services that are simple to use. A service should function without confusion, allowing people to complete tasks quickly and confidently. Forms should pre-populate from secure profiles wherever possible, instructions must be clear and easy to follow, and confirmations should arrive immediately once an action is completed. When processes are straightforward and intuitive, frustration drops and trust in the institution providing the service begins to grow.
Stability is equally important. Reliability has become a signal of respect for the user’s time and effort. When a digital portal is consistently available, fast and predictable, people are far more likely to return to it for future interactions. Conversely, when systems are slow, frequently offline, or unpredictable, confidence erodes quickly and citizens revert to physical service points. In this sense, stability is no longer simply a technical requirement; it forms part of the institution’s operational rhythm and credibility.
Access remains a defining consideration, particularly within South Africa’s uneven digital landscape. Network quality, device affordability and the cost of data continue to shape how people engage with digital services. Platforms therefore need to function effectively on affordable smartphones, remain usable under conditions of weak connectivity, and offer assisted pathways for those who need additional support. Inclusive design is essential if digital services are to reach the full spectrum of citizens.
Trust ultimately underpins all of these expectations. Citizens want assurance that their personal information is protected and that the systems they interact with are fair and accountable. Trust grows when institutions are transparent about what data they collect, why it is collected, and how it is used in decision-making. Clear communication and responsible data practices help reinforce confidence that digital services are designed with the citizen’s best interests in mind. Citizens want secure environments, where multifactor authentication is the norm rather than exception, guaranteeing security of both applications and processes.
Systems to support the shift
To meet rising expectations for faster, more accessible public services, institutions must invest in systems that support a meaningful shift in how services are delivered. At the centre of this transformation is a set of structural capabilities that enable services to become more seamless, responsive, and citizen-focused. These capabilities help institutions move away from fragmented, paper-heavy processes toward integrated digital ecosystems that prioritise efficiency, accessibility, and trust.
A foundational step is establishing a single, secure digital identity for each individual. When people can rely on a verified identity that remains consistent across services and agencies, it becomes far easier to access government services without repeating the same processes multiple times. This approach enables pre-filled forms, reduces the number of logins required, and strengthens fraud prevention. For such a system to work effectively, platforms across departments must be interoperable while still maintaining strong privacy protections. Ensuring compliance with South African laws and recognised global best practices is essential so that citizens can trust that their information is secure.
Equally important is the creation of clean, connected data systems. Accurate and well-governed data sits at the heart of any effective digital experience. Institutions must prioritise shared data models, clearly defined quality standards, and robust data stewardship. When records align across systems, services can operate more smoothly and errors are significantly reduced. Clean data also allows institutions to better understand demand, improve decision-making, and ensure that services reach the people who need them most.
Service design should also reflect how people actually live and interact with services. Human-centred design provides valuable insight into the points where citizens encounter friction or confusion. By working closely with frontline staff and engaging citizen panels, institutions can identify unnecessary steps, clarify language, and refine communication. The goal is to design services that are intuitive and practical. Instructions should be written with real-life scenarios in mind, such as someone completing a process on their phone while travelling on public transport, rather than reflecting internal administrative procedures.
Mobile-first delivery is another critical component of modern service design. For many people, a smartphone is their primary or only way to access digital services. Platforms therefore need to be designed with mobile devices as the starting point rather than an afterthought. Pages should load quickly even on affordable devices, forms should save progress automatically if connectivity drops, and interfaces must remain easy to use on smaller screens. Features such as background syncing and smart caching can help ensure that services remain functional even when internet speeds are slow or inconsistent.
Operational discipline also plays a decisive role in the success of digital services. Technology alone cannot deliver improved outcomes without strong operational practices behind it. Each service should have a clearly defined owner who is accountable for its performance. Institutions should establish service-level agreements for uptime and response times, while also ensuring platforms are instrumented to provide real-time monitoring and insights. Regular root-cause reviews help identify problems and drive continuous improvement, while publishing updates on changes builds transparency and confidence in the system.
Responsible automation and artificial intelligence can also enhance service delivery significantly when used thoughtfully. These technologies can help reduce backlogs, speed up eligibility checks, and improve the targeting of services. However, their use must remain transparent and carefully governed. Institutions should clearly communicate the purpose of automated systems, test algorithms for potential bias, and ensure that decisions can be explained in plain language. Practical starting points include document processing, contact centre support, and appointment management. By focusing on well-defined use cases first and expanding gradually, organisations can harness the benefits of automation while maintaining public trust.
What is at stake for the country
When services are easy to use, reliable, accessible, and trustworthy, daily life for citizens gets better. These services have the power to save time for people who cannot afford to lose hours travelling, queuing or repeating the same information to different departments. They reduce the friction that small businesses face when trying to register, comply or trade. They give frontline staff better tools and more accurate information. They improve the quality of the state’s planning and policymaking. They demonstrate seamless government service delivery to citizens in an efficient manner.
Most importantly, they rebuild trust in institutions, a public asset that South Africa needs urgently.
Small fixes can build momentum quickly. Choose five high‑volume services and fix them end-to-end, or fund the shared foundations that every department will need. Make trust visible by explaining data use, publishing service performance and communicating what has been improved, and building multidisciplinary teams with product owners who are accountable for outcomes, not outputs.
South Africans digital citizens are already living the future through the devices in their hands. They have already made their expectations clear. The responsibility now lies with institutions and their leaders to treat digital as a core public service, with disciplined delivery and respect for people’s time and data.