Public participation in integrated development planning: a case study of the Buffalo City Metropolitan Municipality

[摘要] English: Public participation in the Integrated Development Plan (IDP) process does not take place in avacuum; it is juxtaposed within contextual community realities of power, politics, institutionalsystemic practices and cultures, as well as inequities in resource capacity amongst otherrelational social practices. The value system, history, economy, socio-political dynamics, legaland administrative cultures, social conditions and power dynamics shape in critical ways thecontext of how public participation influences IDP outcomes. An exploration of publicparticipation power dynamics is critical, since it signposts public participation constraints,deepens critical consciousness in public officials, and enables them to ameliorate injustice,thereby promoting community empowerment and distributive justice in integrated developmentplanning and municipal strategic planning. The purpose of this study is to explore the nature andextent of public participation power dynamics during the IDP process and explain how thesedynamics influence IDP outcomes in Buffalo City Metropolitan Municipality (BCMM). Publicparticipation power dynamics pervasively influence the outcomes of IDP processes, in thatforms of power shape the dynamics and outcomes of that process. The dialectical relationshipbetween manifestations of power and community agency shape in complex ways why and howpublic participation may or might not be a space for giving voice to community priorities andneeds.The study uses an exploratory and explanatory case study research design and a mixed methodresearch approach. A survey questionnaire located within the positivist paradigm andquantitative methodology, as well as focus group discussions situated within the interpretiveparadigm and qualitative methodology were used as data collection methods. A final purposefulsample (n=229) consisting of ward councillors, ward committee members, IDP representativeforum members and community stakeholders was used for the survey questionnaire. For thesecond method of data collection, focus group discussions, a final sample (n=34) was used. Theresults of the study suggest mixed views on respondents' satisfaction with public participationin the IDP in BCMM. Findings also reveal lack of adequate requisite knowledge andunderstanding of the strategic nature of the IDP, as well as lack of competences for the public tomeaningfully participate. Lack of capabilities and functionings disempowered, marginalised andexcluded the public from participating and articulating community priorities and needs. Resultsfurther show that some residents get excluded from public participation spaces in the IDP, basedon their political beliefs and affiliation. Other critically important voices are thus excluded.Furthermore, the study findings indicate that residents in BCMM have low to stable levels oftrust in the municipal council's ability to deliver services in response to community prioritiesand needs. Findings thus suggest that public participation in the IDP in BCMM is tokenistic,mostly done to comply with statutory and regulatory precincts. This implies that publicparticipation spaces in BCMM often fail to influence IDP outcomes in response to communitypriorities and needs. Thus, public participation power dynamics in the IDP in BCMM,marginalises and excludes less powerful interests. This study contributes to practice in that itreveals the underlying dynamics that are undocumented and not well understood in municipalplanning. By exposing power dynamics, the study contributes to the empowerment andconscientisation of municipal residents, municipal public officials and other stakeholders withan interest in local governance and especially, public participation in the IDP processes. Thestudy is therefore valuable as it reveals the complexities of how individuals and communitiesnavigate forms of power. The study thus raises critical consciousness in municipal residents,communities and public officials, thus enabling them to address and challenge visible, hiddenand invisible forms of power through behavioural changes, collective agency, local institutional,systemic and social reforms, and thereby promoting distributive justice and social equity.

[发布机构] University of the Free State