This thesis builds a profile of community-level stakeholders in CBPWP and examines how these stakeholders interact with CBPWP at each stage of a typical project. Research findings are then analyzed (according to key research questions described in section 1.5) and summarized in terms of: how communities participate in CBPWP;.
INTRODUCTION
There is quite a bit of literature on the experiences, internationally, with public works programmes. The first phase (1994-1997) of the Community Based PublicWorks program. CBPWP), one of South Africa's first post-apartheid comprehensive government-funded public works programmes, is used as a case study to do this.
RESEARCH METHODS
These descriptions of stakeholders and phases of a project provide a good frame of reference in developing a picture of public works programs for the reader. It was decided that conducting 10 case studies would provide a sample of 10% of the total 101 projects in the database, and that this represented a sufficient sample.
PARTICIPATION
Public Works Programmes Internationally
According to the Reconstruction and Development Programme, public works should be development interventions that maximize opportunities for training and capacity building in. Public works programs in post-apartheid South Africa have several objectives, which include: transformation of institutions (such as local government); empowerment and capacity building in local communities; and participatory development and does not simply address job creation and provision of infrastructure.
THE COMMUNITY BASED PUBLIC WORKS PROGRAMME
The overall management of the CBPWP took place at the national level with a dedicated staff in the National Department of Public Works. This management was according to the general guidelines set out in the Project Management System (PMS). The SALDRU study was an evaluation of the performance of public works projects in a range of programs in the Western Cape.
Although similar to the CASEIILO evaluation, it had a number of important differences, including that it was independently funded by the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI) and not commissioned by the government; that it focused on a range of programs in the Western Cape and not just CBPWP; which enabled a more in-depth regional view of the programs and. The SALDRU study looked at seven different public works programs in the Western Cape as follows: the Western Cape Economic Development Forum, the commission's short-term job creation projects; CBPWP, Community Employment Program;. The SALDRU study produced: a database of public works projects in seven programs in the Western Cape (101 projects in total); interviews with Western Cape PublicWorks officials, community mediators, project committees, consultants, CBOs, NGOs, and PRA workshops with workers in 10 case studies.
This culminated in the production of a report entitled: "From Works to PublicWorks, The Performance of Labor Intensive Public Worksinthe Western Cape Province, SouthAfrica." (In the remainder of this document referred to as the "SALDRU Report"). The following Chapter6 considers the participation process in the CBPWP in more detail by developing profiles of stakeholders at the local level and examining aspects of it.
RESULTS 6.1 Outline of Chapter 6
Out of the 50 workers, only 3 were women and 4 were. approximately 20% of the total project cost. This committee consisted of RDPforum members, a member of the Local School Committee and of the local councillors). After the project was completed, a number of workers found work in the construction industry, some in the local council and some in a further public works intervention in the community (a work for water project).
For the purpose of this dissertation, the term "community" is used to mean "people living within a geographically defined area" (a settlement or settlement). In relation to public works or poverty alleviation programs, this "community" is usually characterized by high unemployment and poverty. When we talk about community participation in public works, we basically mean the participation of the beneficiary community.
A community is not homogeneous - there are differences among its members in terms of power, status, level of education, political beliefs, affiliation to certain organizations, employment or unemployment, gender, age, race and opinion. In the next section, the community is divided into different groups depending on how they participate in public works, for example workers, non-workers, committee members.
STAKEHOLDERS IN COMMUNITY BASED PUBLIC WORKS PROGRAMME PROJECTS
As a subcontractor who is training to be a subcontractor as part of a project (eg someone trained to build bricks and sell them to the project and in the process trained to run a business). As a member of an institution that benefits from or is directly involved in the project (eg a councilor or local government official; a CBO member or employee; a school committee member for a school improvement project). De Bemis (1986, p. 32) states that "basic needs constitute the first stage of every social group. the emergency conditions which, when eliminated, lead the group to effective participation in the social dynamics of development".
Self-targeting also does not address the inclusion of women and youth, for example, in project benefits. CBPWP used structured targeting methods to target specific types of communities and individuals within communities. Of the sample, 48% reported being unemployed prior to the project, with approximately 10% working full-time at home and 10% working full-time in the community.
Of the remaining 30%, most were engaged in part-time agricultural work in the area and a small percentage (5%) survived on disability pensions, retirement pensions or were students. It was not possible to audit the participants' skills, but they were asked what skills they needed in the community to find work.
Age Structure of project committee
STAGES OF A CBPWP PROJECT AND STAKEHOLDER PARTICIPATION IN EACH
- General feelings about projects
- General comment on the overall contribution of participation to project performance
The CASFILO study showed that 50% of people felt that the project they wanted was chosen. The table below contains a summary of the answers to the question "Who decided to start the project?". This was the last time that the community itself participated in the project and from then on they were represented by a committee.
Interestingly, 12% of the committee members answered "I don't know" and 3% said there was no accounting as the community was against the project. In Khayalitsha, for example, one of the project committee members said that «the road was built with the pavement on the wrong side. The reason is that too high a salary can result in people leaving established jobs in society to get temporary employment on the project and thus be worse off than before at the end of the project.
This was one of the most difficult tasks of the project committee given the high unemployment rate, especially in areas like Khayalitsha where there is a high population and a lot of conflict over who gets work. 53% of workers and non-workers felt that more labor could have been used on the project. In terms of community participation in financial management, the project committee participated in most projects.
Responses of workers and non-workers to the question “Who is involved in maintenance of the completed project.
ANALYSIS OF RESEARCH FINDINGS
One of the most positive findings is the high level of community participation in project type selection. Although only half of the project committee members are members. Clarity of responsibilities was clearly not a strong point in the CBPWP program at the project level and the process for deciding who should participate in which aspects of projects was determined top-down (by the local government or the implementing agency). The issue of rights and power differentials in the participation process was not sufficiently addressed.
On a large number of projects, infrastructure maintenance was inadequate and in some cases this posed a danger to community members (eg erosion dongas in Thembalethu). The project would have had significant benefits. It is very important in this regard not to be bound by the participation process, but to focus on the result, that is, to increase the effectiveness and efficiency of the project and to build capacity and strengthen communities. Need to take responsibility for processes. sometimes not adequately resourced, and face criticism (or suggestions of eg•favoritism. nepotism) In CBPWP - sometimes.
As noted above, participation costs are much broader than financial costs. They include: time costs, money. This can save costs in the long run, especially if potential climate, environmental and social problems are identified early in the process.
CONCLUSION
Many of these programs in South Africa, including the CBPWP, specifically recognize community participation as an essential component. Participation can be both a means (to improve project performance) and an end (to enable communities to participate in their own development); it is not without cost; and the nature and type of community participation ranges from mere information exchange through consultation, decision-making and initiating action. Major concerns about the community participation process in the CBPWP included: external determination of participation processes and the stages of projects at which communities are given the opportunity to participate; uncertainty about roles and responsibilities, lack of dedicated resources, capacity and information limitations; unclear definition of rights and processes to address problems.
That community participation involves significant costs and requires some assessment of these costs, and maximization of “benefits based on agreement by all stakeholders on key elements, awareness of budgetary constraints at all levels and a focus on community participation objectives. It makes more sense that it is accompanied by rights and their recognition. It would have been much more revealing to look at data from just one or two local projects and examine the specific relationships, activities and outcomes of community participation, rather than including data from a spectrum of more than 100 projects. however, would be more limited as it would reflect very local results.
Compile a brochure or short handbook on issues to be considered in planning, implementing and monitoring community participation in environmental and development projects. Target audience: "Land andRuraldigest", for example, has a circulation of over 5,000 subscribers from government, private sector, academia and the non-governmental sector.
Snakes , Ladders
The participants were divided into two groups and each time they landed on a snake or ladder, they had to identify and discuss a problem encountered on the project. The community got a bad impression of the project and the workers on the project. Management of the project: People who did not work the whole day or week received full payment.
Type of work: The workers on the project were assigned to do certain jobs such as bricklaying or piping, but sometimes the workers left their jobs to do other types of work on the project. If the project management was better, then management could have worked better with us and provided better guidance. We had no say in who was in project management, but when we got to the project we found them already in place.
I believe there was some problem with the women on. project - maybe just the problems they had with the men on the project. What was your actual role in the project, were you just workers or did you have a say in the running of the project.
