An assessment of the role of public participation in IDP : the Thulamela Municipality

[摘要] The concept of public participation has gained wider acceptance in government circles as a toolto strengthen the pillars of this government's democratic structures. Globally, governments'accountability can be gauged by the extent to which they practise public participation indecision-making in facing up to the challenges of the day.The concept of public participation arrived in South Africa in the 1980s and was supposedlyapplied to the inception of a true democratic dispensation in 1994. In the South African context,public participation cannot be over-emphasised as it underpins the democracy introduced in1994.Because of the great importance of public participation, the South African government hasenacted a number of statutes such as the Constitution (1996) and the Municipal Structures Act(2000) that give substance to public participation. Even though public participation is applied atnational and provincial government levels in South Africa, it is principally in the LocalGovernment field where it is widely applied in order to enable good governance and sustainableservice delivery.This study examines the role of ward committees in public participation in Local Government,with specific reference to Thulamela Municipality. The study suggests that the transformationand democratisation of South African Local Government can be achieved through effectiveimplementation of public participation at grassroots level. Apart from passing legislation, moreneeds to be done to stimulate public participation.The study has furthermore found that even though statutes provide for communities to participatein a range of government-created regulatory structures such as the IDP Representative Forumsand Ward Committees, municipalities need to develop strategies for public participation. Notonly do municipalities need to develop strategies for public participation, they also need todevelop proper mechanisms to encourage the participation of community stakeholders andorganisations.The study is primarily based on qualitative data collected from Thulamela Municipality throughpersonal interviews with councillors, officials and ward committee members. Moreover, thestudy also rests on observations at IDP Representative Forums, IDP and Budget consultativemeetings, focus group discussions and a review of local government statutes and literatureproviding knowledge on the subject under study.

[发布机构] Stellenbosch University