Public participation in the Integrated Development Planning process at local government sphere in South Africa : a literature study

Abstract

The issue of public participation, or the lack of it, in local government, continues to be a concern. Various municipalities are still struggling to incorporate the public into the integrated development planning (IDP) process. This is evident as there has been minimal progress in terms of community engagement in developing the IDP. Thus, this research sought to examine public participation in the Integrated Development Planning process in the local government sphere in South Africa. The main objectives of this dissertation are to align Benjamin Barber's theory with community involvement in the IDP process in local government; investigate the nature and scale of community involvement in the IDP in local government; examine the structures and procedures in place to facilitate public participation in the IDP process in local government and explore the existing factors that impede public participation in the IDP process in local government. A qualitative research methodology was employed to identify public involvement problems related to the IDP. The literature study was based on the requirements of a qualitative study, which included extensive literature, legislation; policy documents, journal articles, books, conference papers, the internet, and government reports about, developmental local government, and IDP in the context of South African local government. The research utilized Benjamin Barber's Strong Democracy theory to explain why there is low public engagement in South Africa's integrated development planning process. To measure the level to which the people are involved in the standard works of democratic politics, as Barber stated, the researcher employed Sherry Arnstein’s ladder of participation. The research tries to figure out where participation in South Africa fits on it—at the bottom, where it merely rubber-stamps official choices, or at the top, where emancipatory ideals are at work and power flows from the government to the public. The research found that the most significant obstacles were weak participatory mechanisms, low civic education, poorly skilled municipal officials, a lack of access to information, a lack of resources and time, outsourcing, and a lack of public accountability. Hence, the study provides recommendations to address the planning participation deficit in local government in South Africa