Participatory budgeting in the South African local government context : the case of the Mantsopa local municipality, Free State Province

[摘要] This study was carried out to assess the extent of citizen participation in local governmentdecision-making, with focus on the local government budgeting processes. A framework ofparticipatory budgeting in Porto Alegre, Brazil is used to assess participation in budgeting inthe Mantsopa Local Municipality in the Free State Province with a view to drawingappropriate lessons for South Africa as a whole. The research looks at three importantconcepts in governance. The first is the issue of good governance. The second is citizenparticipation and collaboration as cornerstones of good governance. The third isparticipatory budgeting as an aspect of citizen participation and collaborative decisionmaking.A multiple research approach was employed, which included the use of focus groupdiscussions, and interviews to examine the level of citizen participation in local governmentdecision-making process within the Mantsopa Municipality. Municipal documents andrecords were used to analyse the existing situation within the municipality.The research found out that the political and administrative elites are still holding on topower that should be in the hands of citizens. Civil society groups are still being neglected inlocal government decision-making. Citizens are also not being encouraged and mobilised totake part in the budget process. The issue of racial discrimination in engaging citizens indecision-making still exists. Mostly, the white business and farming community felt thatthey were largely excluded from these processes.

[发布机构] Stellenbosch University