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"The Participation Paradox" by Sinwell Luke examines the use of participatory democracy in Thembelihle, an informal settlement in South Africa. The book explores how residents organized themselves to secure basic services and resist eviction through participatory democratic methods. Although the process was challenging, it ultimately allowed the community to obtain housing and electricity. However, the author also acknowledges the community's vulnerability due to the absence of an anti-systemic political sensibility and a strong socialist political party. The book provides a nuanced analysis of the strengths and limitations of participatory democracy in action and South African social movements in the post-apartheid era. It also raises questions about the sustainability and scalability of participatory democracy movements and their potential role in addressing climate change and climate justice. [Extracted from the article]

Procedural fairness is an accepted requirement for health decision-making. Fair procedures promote the acceptability and quality of health decisions while simultaneously advancing broader goals of participatory democracy. We conducted a case study of the Sugary Beverage Tax in South Africa known as the Health Promotion Levy (HPL), which was legislated in 2018. The case study examines the process around the adoption of the HPL from the perspective of procedural fairness with the view of identifying local gaps and lessons transferable to other local decision-making processes and other jurisdictions. We conducted a desk review of publically available data relating to the passage and implementation of the HPL, including a review of the policy documents, public submissions during the public participation process, response documents from policymakers, review of national legislative committee minutes, legal instruments and academic literature capturing public awareness, stakeholder views and media content. The data collection is novel in terms of the large scope of data considered, as well as the variety of sources. An analytical framework consisting of key criteria for procedural fairness, informed by a scoping review of the literature, guided the analysis of the decision-making process in South Africa. The process of the adoption and passage of the HPL met the majority of the procedural fairness criteria. However, a shortcoming, which impacted several criteria, was the failure to actively source the participation of community representatives and the larger public. Non-governmental organizations did not adequately fulfil this representative role. Industry interests were also disproportionately considered. The case study highlights the overall importance of viewing general members of the public as interested parties in health policies and the dangers of over-involving policy opponents under a mistaken understanding that this constitutes meaningful public engagement in decision-making procedures. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Faction is an old age phenomenon world over. The democratic consolidation in South Africa post 1994 is close to three decades but did not escape factionalism. Does faction phenomenon bring about havoc, conflicts, splits, and instability corollaries or strengthen party politics in response to fulfilling the general will? In responding to this question, South African party politics and factional battles within the ruling party and other political formations are discussed as a case study to explore the merits and demerits of factions and factionalism. In doing this, a discourse analysis was undertaken to understand how faction phenomenon brings about complots or a positive change. The discourse analysed arrived to the conclusion that whilst factions are blatantly criticised for rearing havoc and instability in party politics as well as signs of split-offs and threats as demerits in South Africa, there are also inevitable trade-offs to be welcomed as merits to create opportunities to drive positive change within the broader party-political spectrum to strengthen participatory democracy and the multi-party system in South Africa. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

It is widely agreed that service provision is the biggest challenge facing South African municipalities and particularly smaller municipalities. This paper analyses the South African municipal government with a focus on how it responds to the vision to build a capable state through developmental government - and the effects of political interference and corruption - to find ways to reduce the problem of service delivery. A qualitative approach was used, and data were collected from various jurisdictions through record review and telephone interviews to fill data knowledge gaps. Most municipalities have described clean water, work prospects and free basic services as the key service delivery obstacles that hinder the realisation of a developmentally competent local government in South Africa. The discussion finds that yet another problem is political interference in municipal administration. Although public engagement in civic affairs is a legal necessity, much remains to be done to bring about meaningful participation. Sanitation has always been a challenge for service delivery, particularly in rural communities, due primarily to a lack of infrastructure. Lastly, it was found that municipalities must do more to create human resources to provide services reflecting a developmentally competent South African local government. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Ward delimitation does not only affect registered voters but also the entire society. In making use of registered voters to delimit wards it is assumed that registered voters are true representation of the population as the only legitimate stakeholders. This assumption is flawed in many ways. Arguably, ward delimitation using voter equities is not only partisan but also discriminatory. Comparative countries' case studies were employed to analyse ward delimitation and its implications. Two findings were critical; one, the use of electoral voters roll in elections and ward delimitation is exclusive and has potential to undermine participatory democracy. Secondly, delimitation of wards linked to five years of electoral cycle is short-lived and has potential intended and unintended consequences. It is for this reason that electoral reforms that deepen participatory democracy and stable decennial ward delimitation system are recommended. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

After the advent of the first free and fair elections in South Africa in 1994, access to municipal services became a right for all residents. Now, more than ever, the inclusion of previously disadvantaged communities is being intensified. However, the delivery of services often remains inadequate, eliciting increasing protests throughout the country. Protests, which are often the last resort by communities, are indicative of declining levels of trust in local government. It becomes problematic when trust in communication channels and public participation strategies is limited, co-production of services is impeded and the possibility of increasing such trust is, in turn, negatively affected. This study used a mixed-methods approach including both quantitative and qualitative research techniques to validate the posed research questions and authenticate the presented problem statement. The triangulation approach allowed for effectively engaging the strengths of both research methodologies. The findings of the study revealed that as a result of communities' increasing lack of trust and confidence in local government, service delivery protests are increasing. The study further indicated that communities in the Nelson Mandela Bay Municipality (NMBM) are generally not well informed about the development plans of the municipality and do not adequately participate in local government activities. The study provides recommendations to augment trust in local government communication channels to improve public participation that could lead to the co-production of services. In this way, the study asserts that trust can be enhanced in what amounts to a virtuous cycle. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Public participation has been viewed as a method for strengthening local governance at the grassroots level of administration through an inclusive democracy and as an imperative portion of unprejudiced administration. Information sharing in administration is the foundation of continuous participatory procedures seen as the facilitators of aggregate insight and comprehensiveness, which are formed by the longing for the participation of the entire group or society. Using documentary method of analysis with empirical observations in the selected local municipalities in South Africa, this paper provides an insight into community and public participation in South Africa's local municipality. It further looks at the significance of public participation in governance and decision-making at the local level, the relevance of South Africa's decentralization of municipalities for local development and the effect. This paper concludes that public cooperation and participation in local government administration is a two-way imperative embracing and setting obligations for both local government authorities and the general public with persuasive communication, and a community critical thinking system, with the objective of accomplishing better governance for effective service delivery at the grassroots level. Using a content data analysis, it therefore recommended that, IDP as a process must democratically engage the public, in the assessment of current social, economic and environmental reality with the municipality.. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract Responsible tourism is embraced globally as one of the vectors to achieving the United Nations' 2030 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Through the Theory of Planned Behaviour, this article attempts to establish the understanding of responsible tourism among owners of small budget hotels in the Johannesburg West Rand Region, South Africa. The conclusion it reaches is that a general appreciation of responsible tourism does not translate into being responsible in daily operations. The paper proposes a 'Best Responsible Tourism Model', which identifies four ways that small hotels can be encouraged by the public sector to participate in responsible tourism, including education, economic motivation, marketing motivation and building social networks. Combined, these feed into the Theory of Planned Behaviour variations, normative beliefs, behavioural beliefs and control beliefs, which will determine the behaviour and perceptions of hoteliers on Responsible Tourism Practice. Participatory democracy should be adopted by hoteliers and other key responsible tourism actors to augment understanding and practice of responsible tourism in small hotels. Highlights • The Theory of Planned Behaviour, established the understanding of responsible tourism among owners of small budget hotels. • A 'Best Responsible Tourism Model', identifies four ways that small hotels can be encouraged by the public sector to participate in responsible tourism. • Participatory democracy should be adopted by hoteliers and other key responsible tourism actors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

South Africa entered the Third Wave of democracy in 1994. Since then it has successfully faced many challenges, the last one being the global financial crisis of 2008-2009, without much damage to its democratic institutions. Pessimism about its democratic trajectory is largely the result of unfortunate policy choices resulting in very low economic growth. Among the many factors that assist democracies to stabilise and endure is the role of the middle class: the more extensive the middle class, the greater the chance for democratic stability. This should be reflected in their values and attitudes toward democracy and institutions. In this article, we use survey data from 1995 and 2013 in order to analyse the evolution of the middle class in South Africa and its values and attitudes since the first democratic elections. Results indicate that the South African middle class has doubled in size during these two decades and that the internal racial distribution has grown closer to the ethnic distribution of the country. We nevertheless conclude that in South Africa democracy is not yet ‘the only game in town’. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article investigates the wider implications of the Commonwealth Games Federation’s decision to withdraw the invitation to South Africa’s potential host city, Durban to host the 2022 Commonwealth Games. A host city has the unique opportunity to communicate with extensive global, regional and national networks through the intersection of sport, politics and diplomacy. The advantages derived from these events are not restricted to a diplomatic level: hosting a major sporting event generates international prestige, establishes strong credentials for the host city/nation, and develops infrastructure countrywide by prompting urban development and renewal. The critical question here is how to evaluate Durban’s loss of the hosting rights against the background of the country’s successful staging of the 2010 FIFA Soccer World Cup. We interrogate three crucial issues: Has the inability to host the Commonwealth Games dented South Africa’s international prestige? Has an opportunity to benefit from public diplomacy been lost? Will this loss affect potential urban and infrastructural regeneration? [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Since the end of apartheid, there has been a steady rise in community protests in South Africa. Many of these protests - often cumulatively grouped under the rubric of 'service delivery protests' are not only about the delivery of basic services, but equally about the closing down of democratic/institutional space and process when communities try to raise issues related to services and corruption. If protests are a way for the poor and the marginal to let their voices be heard, these protests should be seen as a form of communication from below with the aim of attaining greater social transformation and inclusion for those sections of society who still feel excluded from the democratic public sphere more than two decades after the arrival of formal democracy in South Africa. The coverage of these protests that the mainstream media provides, the way they are framed and the discourses constructed around them, can be considered communication from above. This paper investigates both these perspectives - from above and below - on community protests, through a three-fold methodology: a quantitative content analysis of print media coverage of community protests; qualitative in-depth interviews with journalists; and qualitative interviews with activists who were involved in the protests. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg (Wits), has been a prominent site of student protests since 2015. In the midst of the conflicts various Wits actors claimed or implied a special democratic legitimacy. This article examines five exercises at Wits: the election of student representatives, the student protest movement, a student petition, a management-initiated poll and an aborted General Assembly. These exercises are scrutinised and scored along six democratic dimensions: directness, participation, representation, pluralism, equality and deliberation. According to the weak thesis, this dimensional analysis reveals a landscape of democratic complexity that belies the claim of any one actor to a superior democratic model. According to the strong thesis, there is a particular problem with democratic practices that score weakly in terms of representation. The weakness of the 'fallist' student movement in the representation dimension undercuts its claim to prefigure a superior form of comprehensive university-wide democracy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article examines the life and thought of South African radical philosopher Richard 'Rick ' Turner (1941-1978), a crucial figure in the 1973 anti-apartheid political conjuncture known as the 'Durban Moment. ' Though steeped in existentialist philosophy, Turner's real contribution to New Left thought in South Africa came elsewhere. Turner's receptivity to 'Black Consciousness, ' his vision of radical pedagogy, and his commitment to participatory democracy and 'workers' control ' all made a deep imprint on Black working class mobilization and the birth of a democratic trade union movement in South Africa. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In general, South Africans view the formal participatory institutions of their state as ineffective mechanisms for the realization of their demands. Conversely, the reach of formalized civil society is limited in terms of policy impact, and social movements have little presence on the ground outside of the larger townships of the major metropolitan cities. In this context, the tensions between communities, civil society actors, and the state, often linked to enduring forms of poor governance, are increasingly played out in non-state and extra-institutional arenas, sometimes through the idiom of protest. Marginalized communities rely on various kinds of informal political practices to access rights and services from the state, or even to keep the state at bay. This emerging informal politics, and the associated forms of mediated representation, speaks to an ever-widening legitimacy gap between state and society, and with it, an ever-precarious participatory project. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Under Apartheid, marginalised groups had limited power to influence decisions contributing to environmental injustices. Democracy witnessed civil society as 'inclusive' to engage in formal decision-making. This paper examines the ability of the state and industry to effectively implement formal participatory decision-making spaces, including the ability of civil society to engage in these spaces. This paper presents viewpoints from stakeholders in Durban to examine engagement amongst civil society, the state and industry for participatory democracy. Investigations reveal that tokenistic participatory processes by provincial/local government and industry during development processes, government use of industrial consultants for decision-making, and fragmentation between some local community groups due to acquisition of industrial funding has not effectively included marginalised citizen's into participatory processes to inform decisions. Despite a democratic transition, participatory democracy for environmental justice is limited. This paper suggests that government and industry need to engage proactively with civil society before decisions are made on development processes, rather than as an afterthought. It is also suggested that consultants used during development processes be chosen in consensus between civil society, industry and government. Community coherence against industrial risks will also be better achieved if industrial funding was administered through a community fund with an appropriate monitoring system of how funds are used. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In post-apartheid South Africa, how possible is it for community radio to dissociate from elite practices in terms of media creation and consumption that reflect inclusive and participatory public spheres? This article is based on a study of a current affairs community radio show,Lunchtime Live. The show attempted to capture diverse voices, to offer balanced perspectives between powerful political elites and ordinary citizens, and to create spaces for ordinary citizens in a rural South African town, Grahamstown, to participate in public spheres with the aim of fostering inclusive public discussion and accountability. However, high levels of poverty and inequality made this aspect of citizenship unattainable, especially in view of the costs involved with participating in studio discussions through audience-initiated phone calls. While the diction used onLunchtime Livewas couched in struggle and revolutionary language and pitted the community against the authorities, the audience discussions revealed that the community felt alienated, and that the chasm between them and their leaders may be widening. This was because of the perception thatLunchtime Liveshows were,ab initio, tainted by elite participation and frames, which turned many potential and actual audiences against it. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

In South Africa the constitutional order brought about by the transition to democracy, and the subsequent policy and legislation frameworks, have enabled ordinary people to participate in governance and policy making. Yet, according to some studies, the importance of participation - agreed to by politicians, practised and promoted by academics - has yet to be translated into a lived reality at the local level. In this paper, I write about the debates on participation, its advantages, and disadvantages. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

South Africa faces a demanding period of policymaking in search of sustainable energy solutions, which are required if the country is to reduce future increase in its greenhouse gas emissions. The most recent platform for this process was the drafting of the Integrated Resource Plan 2 (IRP 2). The Constitutional provisions that require participation in law-making have been strengthened, placing an onus on government to facilitate public involvement. This article examines the extent to which constitutional and statutory duty to permit meaningful public participation was met in developing the IRP2. In South Africa there are many obstacles to effective engagement, attenuated by the complexities of the political context, social inequities, and imperatives of economic growth. The case demonstrates that where civil society organizations develop strategic and technical capacity, they can begin to overcome these obstacles and compete with incumbent corporate stakeholders whose vested interest lies in monopolizing more secretive and exclusionary decision processes, where government departments struggle to address the scale, urgency and inter-connected complexity of sustainable development. But the IRP 2 case study is also a cautionary tale that demonstrates the limits of what can be achieved through constructive dialogue if stakeholders have uneven access to decision-making processes and uneven capacity to have influence, especially in processes where a premium is placed on technical expertise and where that expert knowledge may be used to manipulate outcomes. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

This article argues that in thinking about the challenges of inclusive democratic development in the global south we need to refocus attention on effective citizenship, that is, the actual capacity of citizens to make use of formal political and civic rights. Empirically this calls for closer analytic attention to the participatory dimensions of democracy and specifically to an examination of the political and institutional conditions under which decentralized participatory governance can be promoted. The essay reviews research findings from ambitious reform projects in participatory governance in Brazil, India (Kerala) and South Africa and draws out some comparative lessons that highlight the complex interplay of political parties and civil society. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article assesses South Africa's progress in establishing a constitutional and legislative framework for engaging women in the process of building a participatory democracy. While much analysis and reflection to date has focused on the effectiveness and deficiencies of participatory mechanisms in connecting citizens’ voices with state decision-making, there has been relatively limited examination of whether the current participation mechanisms accommodate equity issues by enabling marginalized or vulnerable groups, and women living in poverty in particular, to participate in governance. This paper seeks to address this gap and argues that while some positive steps towards gender awareness planning and participation have been achieved, particularly at local level, poor women have been largely excluded from meaningful engagement in decision-making processes. The article argues for a new approach with specific recommendations and proposed further research to ensure women's increased agency in the democratic process. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]