BuildRSA chat platform is an innovative, proudly South African technology initiative. It aims to give South Africans a chance to air their views on developmental issues facing the country and provide tangible solutions to resolving them before they cause degenerative damage.

Over the years, technological advances have meant we can easily access transport on cellphone apps, shop online, have virtual meetings from anywhere and everywhere and so much more. ChatGPT, one of the latest developments in artificial technology, is fast gaining popularity and enables users to complete various tasks, including but not limited to, text generation, text translation, question-answering as well as sentiment analysis. With the advent of BuildRSA, technology is now being used to get South African society to use our talent and ingenuity to make South Africa run more efficiently.  BuildRSA is about taking action by harnessing one’s personal agency and saying “what can I do to fix the problems in our country?”

The platform gives users an opportunity to collectively and constructively problem solve through dialogue to tackle South Africa’s myriad of challenges and move the country forward. It aims to promote active citizenry, develop winning mindsets and create a culture of focus, determination, hard work and excellence.

BuildRSA was developed by Priority Performance Projects, which is part of Plus 94 Research, the largest independent, South African and black-owned research company in the country. What makes it different from other social media platforms is that it’s a local product specifically focused on discussing and solving the problems holding South Africa back.

Dr Sifiso Falala, CEO of Priority Performance Projects, says BuildRSA is targeted at building our country, meaning building it at all levels; building the culture, excellence and performance in South Africa. “We have benchmarked the work that we do on four very important values namely, problem solving, which we believe is one of our biggest challenges, global competitiveness, self-love and patriotism,” explains Dr Falala. “We believe the BuildRSA chat forum should be used to collectively, through dialogue, solve our problems constructively. It allows citizens to set the agenda on what’s important and come up with ways to fix our challenges. Leaders can then take a cue from the contributions of society to develop policies and programmes to empower our nation.”        

With loadshedding, a stagnant economy, water cuts, an education crisis, high rates of unemployment, poverty, crime and corruption, among numerous other challenges facing South Africa, it’s easy for pessimism and despondency to set in. Within this context, the importance of the BuildRSA platform can’t be overemphasised as it provides a free-of-charge tool for citizens to voice their frustrations and influence positive, sustainable change. It highlights that we’re not hopeless or helpless in overcoming our problems by providing a safe space to engage in open, honest discussion that inspires action to build a better nation. BuildRSA promotes a spirit of patriotism, optimism and determination through sharing opinions and practical, considered solutions to our economic, societal and political issues.

The BuildRSA platform has already garnered scores of followers, with users regularly commenting on a variety of issues, from our energy crisis, gaping inequality and joblessness, right through to gender-based violence, corruption, African proverbs, lack of infrastructure maintenance and so much more.  With posts on a range of important, interesting topics, it offers engaging conversation for comment and reflection. Whenever someone posts on a topic, users are notified via email and can choose whether or not to receive notifications.

Bhelekazi, who regularly posts on BuildRSA, says it’s a great platform that gives people the opportunity to engage in structured, meaningful conversation about issues facing the country and share empowering ideas and perspectives on addressing them. “BuildRSA is a comforting, welcoming space, where everyone can make a contribution and people’s ideas are appreciated no matter who they are, where they’re from or their level of education,” she says. “It’s always exciting to see people’s responses to a conversation I’ve started. It would be outstanding if people took the ideas presented and made a practical, positive difference by turning them into action – no matter how big or small. This way, BuildRSA can really live up to its name.”   

In the interests of South Africa, BuildRSA will mediate and manage the tone and focus of all discussions.

Users can access BuildRSA by logging onto https://buildrsa.co.za/ and then registering a username.  You’ll need to wait a short while for a blue button with a plus sign to appear before you can post a comment.

To ensure users stay up to date, BuildRSA runs two artificial intelligence (AI) driven news services called BuildRSANews and a video-based news service called DIYAfrica, which is also AI driven. For the erudite, the site offers academic content from a dedicated user called AfricanScholar.

Available on the platform is the opportunity to benefit from thought leadership articles, do a thread, participate in surveys, like and reply to posts as well as share them on Twitter. BuildRSA also features polls, including ones on patriotism, the 2024 elections, happiness and volunteerism, while giving users the chance to pick up on trends in discussion. Great competitions to win cash prizes are other advantages of BuildRSA.

Additionally, the platform enables you to upload profile pictures as well as agenda-setting articles, academic material, photos, videos and illustrations to amplify your points.  

Ultimately, BuildRSA highlights that the power and responsibility to change South Africa for the better, forever, lies with us all.