Legal requirements
The cornerstone of the democratic government is to encourage effective public participation processes of community engagement between government and citizens. The need for meaningful participation requires that established systems and processes must be known by communities as they improve government transparency in its business conduct. Ward Committees are established amongst others to facilitate community participation and enhancing participatory democracy in local government.
Section 17 of the Municipal Systems Act requires municipalities to put in place systems for communities to participate in the decision-making process. These include the following:
- The process of receiving, processing and considering petitions
- Procedures for notifying the public of issues being considered by the council and a process that allows for public comment
- Procedures for public meetings and hearings by councillors and officials
- Regular sharing of information on the state of affairs of the Municipality through consultation with Community Organisations and Traditional Leaders Public Participation is located in the Office of the Speaker and is implemented through the Community Participation Policy. Ward Committees operate within the guidance of the Ward Governance Policy to facilitate the process of community engagement. The responsibility of the Public Participation Unit amongst others include:
- Management and monitoring of Ward Committees functionality;
- To organise, promote and encourage community participation in the municipal processes;
- To co-ordinate community outreach programmes; and
- To co-ordinate with sector departments all community participation programmes.
The Integrated Development Plan processes require stakeholder engagements during the different stages of planning and public participation engages in the following way:
Planning phase | Levels of Engagement |
---|---|
Analysis | Community Meetings inviting civic society to interact with determining community needs and reflection on the past IDP performance outcomes |
Stakeholder Engagement Projects | IDP Stakeholder Representative Forum Public Debates on what can work best in solving a problem Meetings with affected communities and stakeholders |
Integration | IDP Representative Forum |
Approval | Public Discussion and consultation with communities and stakeholders on the Key Focus Areas and projects |
Monitoring and Implementation | IDP Representative Forum; Ward Committees; War Rooms |
Ward Committees
Ward Operational Plans