A framework for participatory communication in the IDP context of Ward 31 in Rustenburg Local Municipality

Abstract

Some of the key legislations regulating local government administration in South Africa, namely, the Constitution of the Republic of South Africa (see South Africa 1996) as well as the Municipal Systems Act (see South Africa, 2000), require municipal authorities to ensure participation of local communities in the planning and execution of a local development agenda. This includes coming up with a forum of institutionalised participation mechanism (or process) that guarantees the active involvement of local citizens in the development, drafting, finalisation and implementation of an Integrated Development Plan (IDP). However, various communication-related gaps were revealed after reviewing literature on institutionalised participation in municipal IDP processes in the South African local government context. These gaps include a lack of active citizen engagement and participation, a lack of proper feedback facilitation as well as the inability of local citizens to be afforded the space to make final decisions regarding local development and social change needs. Although community participation is a legislatively recognised concept within the municipal IDP framework, various studies have argued that the concept is misappropriated and applied as a means to achieve desired ends by those with the resources and power over municipal administration. The foregoing implies that the kind of participation required (and practiced) at municipal level does not necessarily adhere to the norm of the participatory approach to development and social change. In fortifying the above argument, three theoretical lines of thought, namely, communicative action, dialogical praxis and intercultural communication, underpin the present study with the objective of theoretically grounding the participatory approach, which advocates for the use of dialogue as a facilitator of active and meaningful participation of local citizens in forums aimed at making decisions about their own development and social change. The above theoretical lines of thought are instrumental in addressing criticism levelled against the participatory approach where it has been viewed as utopian and unrealistic, thus suggesting a critical gap between theory and practice. This qualitative study identifies four concepts namely participation, dialogue, empowerment and culture as having a conceptual connection with the above theoretical lines of thought and were used together in the development of a conceptual framework which was empirically evaluated by means of semi-structured interviews with five (5) municipal officials as well as focus group discussions with forty-six (46) community members of Ward 31 (Marikana) Rustenburg. The perceptions of the participants helped in reshaping the practical operationalisation of the four concepts underpinning the participatory approach, leading to the revision of a framework for participatory communication that is informed by theory and has practical relevance. This framework enables the facilitation of meaningful and active institutionalised participation of citizens in municipal IDP processes in a pragmatic sense. The framework was used to reimagine the steps followed in the IDP process of Rustenburg Local Municipality, with the aim of ensuring that the kind of participation required (and practiced) at municipal level, adheres to the ethos and the realistic requirements of participatory communication.