An assessment of community participation in the matters of Local Governance with special reference to the Mafikeng Local Municipality Area

Abstract

The Constitution of the Republic of South Africa directs municipalities to encourage the involvement of communities and community organizations in the matters of local government. In terms of Basic values and principles governing public administration - people's needs must be responded to, and the public must be encouraged to participate in policy-making. The study undertaken sought to assess the level of community participation in matters of local governance within the Mafikeng Local Municipality's area of jurisdiction. The study was prompted by a number of sporadic disturbances alleged to have been triggered by poor service delivery that plagued the municipality before and after the March 2006 local government elections. It would seem that there was an ineffective and irregular interaction or communication between the municipal council and its important stakeholders, the broader community. It appeared that public participation is not yet firmly rooted within the municipality. In order to resolve the perceived problem relating to the uncertain level of community participation in matters of local governance, the researcher sought to: - Determine the different approaches engaged by the Mafikeng Local Municipality towards ensuring sufficient community participation; - Determine the challenges facing the municipality in promoting community participation in matters of local governance; - Determine the structures that have been established to enhance community participation; - Determine the effectiveness of the structures; - Determine the role played by councillors; and - Determine the residents ' perceptions regarding the role played by the councillors in fostering optimal community participation. To this end, local and international lessons , experiences and best practices were sought through literature review so as to discover issues that can be recommended for emulation by the municipality.

It was imperative to obtain the broader Mafikeng Local Municipality's community views on the subject matter under investigation so as to ascertain whether the perception has any basis. A questionnaire was used as an appropriate tool for collecting data. A universe of sixty respondents comprising thirty males and thirty females were drawn from both urban and rural residents. They were of different age categories and educational level. The questionnaire was self-administered by the researcher. Data collected were computer analysed through the use of tables and figures . The conclusions reached supported the perception employed by the community that residents' participation was either low or partially implemented. A number of recommendations were put forward including amongst others that : - Councillors should recommit themselves to serve their communities better; feedback systems should be developed, implemented and sustained, communication channels be improved and capacity challenges be dealt with to build competence. Partial community participation should be replaced by effective and constructive community involvement in local governance issues that impact on their daily lives.