Unpacking Barriers and Opportunities Around Community Participation and Municipal Planning: A View from 12 local Municipalities in South Africa

Abstract

Public participation has gained increased interest from practitioners, scholars and academics. The challenges and opportunities with informal and formal participation, top-down and bottom-up participation, and ‘invited’ and ‘invented’ spaces have been well documented. From 2022 to 2024 the COMPACT project – a partnership between the Public Affairs Research Institute (PARI), the South African Local Government Association (SALGA) and Integrity Action - conducted action research in 12 local municipalities in South Africa. The research investigates inter alia community participation in the integrated development planning (IDP) process, the functioning of ward committees, and the relationship between municipalities and civil society. The findings from the research point to public participation in the IDP cycle as a ‘tick-box’ compliance exercise in municipalities which excludes the voices of community members in planning, implementation and oversight. The findings further point to the need for more support, training and capacity-building in the functioning of ward communities, and the need for an improved working relationship between civil society and municipalities. The findings and recommendations of the research are being used to develop tools and resources for municipalities to enhance public participation, planning and accountability around service delivery at the local level.