CHAPTER FOUR: EXAMINING THE IMPLEMENTATION OF RURAL DEVELOPMENT POLICIES IN POST-APARTHEID SOUTH AFRICA
4.5 PUBLIC PARTICIPATION IN POST-1994 SOUTH AFRICA
The concept of public participation has already been discussed (see section 2.4.1). The concept gained wider acceptance as a tool that modern governments can use to strengthen their democratic structures. De Beer and Swanepoel (2010) draw on the context of South Africa to express their warning on the limitations of public participation in their observation that, despite the positive energy that the concept of public participation generates, in practice it can fail because of geographical factors such as distance or other factors such as conflict. These limitations notwithstanding, public participation, still holds the key to sustainable rural development.
In South Africa, public participation underpins the democratic dispensation inaugurated in 1994. The multi-racial democratic dispensation of 1994 created a new system of constitutional democracy, which is representative and participatory in essence. Nyati, (2008:102) explains that the representative aspect “embraces multi-party democracy and is achieved through regular
148 elections based on a common voters’ roll and proportional representation”. Representative democracy improves the accountability of governing officials to their electorate and reduces the gap between policy makers and the intended beneficiaries (Masango, 2001; Smith, 1985).
In addition, the principle of representative democracy suggests that getting people to participate in decision-making through their representatives leads to better management of issues of public interest.
The participatory aspect provides the opportunity for citizens to participate in public life as a way of promoting and sustaining democracy. It prioritises participation in all spheres of public life for the development of individual capacities and achievement of common goals.
Participatory mechanisms enable both the individual and community to benefit and develop a shared sense of purpose (Zakhour, 2020; Masiya, Davids and Mazenda, 2019; Madumo, 2014;
Mathekga and Buccus, 2006). Furthermore, the participatory dimension recognises and promotes the rights of other independent actors such as NGOs and private sector organisations in decision-making and policy implementation processes. As a constitutional democracy, South Africa has a well-developed legal and regulatory framework on public participation. In particular, the legislative framework provides guidelines on how local government should function and interact with communities to promote democracy and improve service delivery at the local level. The rural development policies of the post-apartheid era are all premised on the principle of public participation in policy formulation and implementation. Commenting on public participation as explicated in the RDP, Davis (2005:) states that, “the birth of a transformed nation can only succeed if the people themselves are voluntary participants in the process towards the realisation of the goals they have themselves helped to define”. Davis (2005) notes further the need for the democratic government to embrace public participation owing to South Africa’s history of disempowerment and predominantly top-down decision making processes. The RDP therefore, provided the first legislative framework on how to address the negative effects of centuries of colonialism and apartheid in South Africa (Siphuma, 2009).
However, a solid and more refined legal framework was still needed to entrench a culture of public participation in a democratic society. Thus, the principle of public participation needed to be enshrined in the Constitution of the Republic of South Africa.
149 4.6 PUBLIC PARTICIPATION AS ENSHRINED IN THE SOUTH AFRICAN
CONSTITUTION
The Republic of South Africa is a constitutional democracy, which means that the constitution is the supreme law of the land. Masango (2001) and Ranney (1975) note that, a constitution consists of the whole gamut of rules that are written and unwritten, legal and extra-legal. The constitution provides the legal framework that directs the operations of a particular government.
The Constitution of the Republic of South Africa is internationally recognised as one of the most enlightened ones (Theron, 2012). The rights and obligations of citizens are defined and enshrined in the constitution. As a result, the Constitution of the Republic of South Africa (Act 108 of 1996) obliges legislatures to provide mechanisms for public participation in processes of policy-making and implementation. This underscores public participation as an imperative for building a democratic society in South Africa.
Chapters 2, 4, 7 and 10 of the Constitution of the Republic of South Africa (Act 108of 1996) stipulate provisions for public participation in policy-making and implementation processes.
These chapters focus on the Bill of Rights, national and provincial spheres of government, local government and public administration, respectively. The Constitution provides a solid legal framework for public participation in different contexts within the Republic of South Africa.
The afore-mentioned chapters explain the terrain and parameters in which citizens can participate in decision making processes and matters of public interest.
Sections 16, 17, 19 and 23 of the chapter on the Bill of Rights contain provisions for public participation. These provisions relate to freedom of expression, assembly, demonstration, picketing and petition, as well as association and political rights respectively.
Freedom of expression plays an important role in public policy making processes. Different interest groups, political parties, prominent individuals and the media utilise freedom of expression to shape and influence public opinion on pertinent policy issues. South Africa’s democracy also affords opposition parties and other interest groups that are opposed to the government of the day the freedom of expression to criticise public policies and public officials.
To this end,Masango (2001) argues that, the chapter on the Bill of Rights gives all citizens the freedom to express their views, regardless of whether such views agree with government policies or not. Freedom of exprerssion is important in a democratic country such as South Africa because if affords citizens the opportunity to express their opinions and for the political
150 leaders and government to receive public opinion on pertinent policy issues. Public participation therefore, legitimises a government and provides a system in which those in government are kept “informed about the will of those who elected them” (Masango, 2001:70).
In South Africa, apart from voting in general elections and local government elections in which citizens elect their representatives, there are regular interactions between three spheres of government and the public. To this end, “Public participation in governance involves the direct involvement or indirect involvement through representatives of the concerned constituency in decision making about policies, plans or programmes in which they have interest” (Quick and Bryson, 2016:1). This indicates that elections alone do not improve government performance and accountability but that more involvement of citizens in processes of decision making and their implementation is important. In South Africa, public participation in governance beyond elections is an imperative, in view of the country’s colonial and apartheid history of social, political and economic exclusion.
Various initiatives have been made by the different spheres of government to promote public participation. There are various instruments at the national and provincial levels of government whose role is to promote public participation. For example, public participation has been promoted at the national and provincial spheres of government through the Standing and Portfolio Committees.28The Portfolio Committees play a critical role in the policy-making process. When the Green Papers and White Papers have been developed, the Bill is then introduced to the National Assembly and sent to the relevant portfolio committee which advertises and invites written submissions from the public. The public can also make oral submissions through public hearings. Both the written and oral submissions form part of the constitutional mandate to involve the public in the legislative process. The relevant portfolio committee is obliged to consider both the written and oral submissions when processing the Bill. In addition, a survey conducted by the Parliamentary Monitoring Group (PMG) (2017:8) underlines that, parliamentary committees also use “workshops, colloquiums and round tables
28 The national parliament divides its members into small groups to focus on specific areas of governance. These small groups are called parliamentary or portfolio committees. Their role is to ensure that policy issues and new bills are thoroughly debated before they are brought to parliament. The committees provide members of parliament with the opportunity to gain experience and be specialised in a particular area of interest such as finance and, agriculture. In addition, the portfolio committees serve as forums through which members of the public can as individuals or interest groups with parliament and government on specific issues and policies (https://paralegaladvice.org.za/wp content/uploads/2016/05/03 PLM2015 Democracy.pdf). Accessed:
2018.02.12.
151 as another means to invite public comment and create dialogue between the public and their representatives on key topic issues”.
The PMG (2017) survey established that parliamentary committees also allow individuals and organisations to lobby Members of Parliament (MPs) and political parties to advance a certain view or interest in the legislature. In addition, the survey report (PMG, 2017:12) indicates that the practice of lobbying in the parliamentary committees “allows for more strategic engagement, empowers MPs by increasing their knowledge base, offers solutions and assists in creating a climate of more critical and engaged debate”. Furthermore, parliamentary committees provide the public with an opportunity to hold public officials at the national and provincial spheres of government accountable for their decisions and actions. According to Masango (2001) and Benwell (1980), parliamentary committee meetings are interactive and involve in-depth discussions among members who are capable to understand the matter(s) under consideration. These in-depth discussions ensure that topical issues of public interest are thoroughly addressed.
The nature of public participation in governance in South Africa goes beyond the set of procedures that are controlled by government. In cases where the public feels excluded or not consulted enough on importanct decisions that affect their life, the public can use the Courts to demand that their concerns are listened to and considered. For example, in the case between Matatiel Municipality and Others v The President of the Republic of South Africa and Others, Nyati (2008: 105) demonstrates how the public used the Court to participate in changing the provincial boundaries of KwaZulu-Natal and the Estern Cape. In this case, the provincial government of KwaZulu-Natal had taken an important decision to support the boundary change without involving the public. In another case of Merafong Demarcation Forum and Others v President of the Republic of South Africa and Others, the public (various community structures) from Merafong had to turn to the Court to voice their opposition to the decision of the National Assembly to incorporate Merafong Municipality to the North West Province without public engagement (Nyati, 2008:106). These examples demonstrate that public participation is protected by the Constitution of the Republic pf South Africa and that public participation is not limited to procedures that are controlled by government. However, poor communities, especially those in the rural areas may not have the skills and enough resources to mobilise and influence decisions through the Courts. In essence this means that the poor have limited choices to participate outside the structures designed and controlled by government. However, the
152 existence of well-resourced civil society organisations at the grass-roots level could remedy the situation and act on the behalf of the poor communities. Unfortunately, Buccus (2011:13) asserts that, “There is a sense that often the civil society sector is often co-opted into participating in a process with a pre-determined outcome and of being excluded from an ‘inner circle’ enjoying privileged access to decision makers”. This leaves the poor more vulnerable to manipulation by the political elites.
Of particular interest in this research is the role of the Local Government (LG) in promoting public participation especially in development processes. The LG is the local sphere of government that is closer to rural areas and marginalised communities in South Africa. The argument of this research is that rural development cannot be achieved without the involvement of rural people in the policy-making and implementation processes. It is therefore, imperative to consider the Constitutional provisions that obligate the LG to promote and facilitate public participation at the local level, particularly in rural areas. According to Siphuma (2009) and Putu (2006), the Constitution articulates the important role that the LG system in a democratic South Africa ought to play to entrench democracy and promote socio-economic development at the local level. Rural areas constitute a huge part of local government in South Africa and they are also an epicentre of poverty and underdevelopment. Efforts to transform the social and economic well-being of rural areas in a sustainable manner require the meaningful participation of rural people. Thus, the Constitution of the Republic of South Africa (Act 108 of 1996) obliges the local government to create mechanisms that enable people at the local level to interact with government on decisions that affect them.
4.7 THE LEGAL FRAMEWORK IN SUPPORT OF PUBLIC PARTICIPATION AT