Introspecting public participation
Public participation may be regarded as a political principle or practice, and may also be recognised as a right where the public/the society at large have the right to partake in the decision making process of the country.
Public participation also seeks and facilitates the involvement of those potentially affected by or interested in a decision. The principle of public participation holds that those who are affected by a decision have a right to be involved in the decision-making process.
There are different types of public participation which are applicable amongst society in our country that either affects the participation process to be effective or passive. The different types of PP will be named on page 3.
Public participation in the context of South African politics
The involvement of citizens in matters of service delivery is important in a democratic society. Public participation is a mechanism for entrenching democracy and it promotes social cohesion between government and the citizens, particularly in the provision of quality and sustainable services.
In South Africa, prior to 1994, the government suppressed all forms of public participation especially among the black communities.
The practice of critical engagement was frowned upon by an insular and self perpetuating state. The apartheid-led government stifled public participation and excluded the vast majority of people in governance and service delivery matters.
With the democratic transition in 1994, there was a clear commitment to consultation and participation by citizens as service users of the Public Service.
This stems from a rich history of consultation during the liberation struggle and at the advent of democracy, the Constitution made public participation a fundamental priority and the policy environment was characterised by White Papers that clearly articulated government’s intent and invited extensive consultation and public participation.
In this regard, members of the public were invited to make inputs thus making the process of drafting the Constitution and the various White Papers inclusive and open to the public.
The Constitution states that all spheres of government (national, provincial and local) should create mechanisms which would make it easy for people either as individuals or groups to participate in government-led initiatives.
However, post 1994, the newly elected government committed itself to and embraced a people centred development approach. With this approach, public participation became a Constitutional imperative where it is stated that “people’s needs must be responded to, and the public must be encouraged to participate in policy making”.
The public participate in policy making through various types of public participation which are presently applicable in South Africa. The public:
· Votes in elections
· Participate in party politics
· Hold public demonstrations
· Petition on local or national leaders
· Lobby decision-makers
· Make written or verbal submissions to committees
· Use ward committees at local government level
It is through the above mentioned types of public participation that the public engage itself with the government to make decisions, but usually on the times when they are approached do I believe that the forms are effective.
Again In the new South Africa (since 1994), the government has applied several initiatives to effect public participation. These include methodologies such as izimbizo, Exco-meets the people, public hearings, ward committees, community development workers, Citizen Satisfaction Surveys and Citizens Forums.
In addition, various structures such as the National Economic Development and Labour
Council (NEDLAC) and the National Anti-Corruption Forum were established to create a
platform for public participation.
Looking at the core values and principles of public participation
• Public participation is based on the belief that those who are affected by a decision have a right to beinvolved in the decision-making process.
• Public participation includes the promise that the public’s contribution will influence the decision.
• Public participation promotes sustainable decisions by recognizing and communicating the needs and interests of all participants, including decision makers.
• Public participation seeks input from participants in designing how they participate.
• Public participation provides participants with the information they need to participate in a meaningful way.
• Public participation communicates to participants how their inputs affect decisions.
Many forms of public participations are being utilised as they create a platform where citizens ‘views find their way in development planning and policy making processes.
However, when citizens participate in information giving, they are often not informed of how the information will be used and they rarely receive the end products of such participatory process, of which I may add that it becomes more and more of a norm to the South African political officials which is giving the public the wrong end of the stick to hold.
Stephen D. Tensey and Nigel A. Jackson (2008-173) says that democracy is often thought of primarily in terms of the opportunity for citizens to freely choose their rulers on periotic intervals, rather than to make governmental decisions for themselves. I thereof see the need for transparency of the officials to the society on provincial level and let the people partake/participate in policy making agreeing to the notion that states that provincial institutions are required to make provision to receive public input on all legislative and policy matters.
Public influence on policy making at Provincial level
The participation of the public in policy making and other decisions is there, though not at a distinction, but statistics shows that it is evident in just over 50% active in most provinces of South Africa.
The publics’ power is the capacity and capability of people (individually and collectively) to positively shape and influence the direction, content and structure of their lives and communities. Since ‘94, it has become a mainstream practice for public services to involve citizens in their decision-making.
Provincial departments should develop guidelines/policies on public participation to inform and manage critical engagement with citizens. The guidelines/policies on public participation should clearly articulate the objectives of public participation and the process to be followed during engagement with citizens. During the development of such guidelines/policies, departments should ensure that the views and inputs of stakeholders are solicited of which breathes in the South African society, but not to its fullest capacity.
Departments at both national and provincial governments, rarely institutionalise public participation as a service delivery and good governance mechanism. In order to institutionalise public participation, departments should ensure that public participation units are established and have the necessary financial and human resources to support critical citizen engagement.
During discussions on new policies, individuals are allowed to submit petitions to the municipal manager. A petition is usually used to inform the council and the administration that a large number of people want something to be done. Petitions are used to draw the attention of the administration to something that should be done. They can be used to point out that one of the laws or policies of the province is not being applied properly or to call for a change. Either the community or a councillor can draw up a petition.
These are handed to the council secretary at a council meeting. The person who delivers a petition may explain its subject but is not allowed to make a speech about it. The petition is usually referred to the provincial management committee that will then report to council.
The officials circulate the petition to the relevant departments who will make recommendations to the relevant portfolio or standing committees. These committees then make recommendations to council. The councillor or group who submits the petition should keep track of the progress of the petition.
Again, after a decision to seek a new policy or law, it is the sole duty of the provincial (or national if the case) administrator to seek public input which is rare in RSA at the moment.
There are other means where the public interacts with the provincial/national council besides petitions that are Requests, public meetings and forums, and questions to council.
I conclude that there is interaction between the provincial administration and the public at large and add that there is a lot room for improvement.
Factors contributing to non-participation by organisations and individuals in public participation exercise.
Most factors that contribute to the lack of participation of the society at large revolves around being uneducated about their rights, responsibilities and options that are available for them to use. However, too frequently the emphasis is put on the “one way channel” or flow of information that goes from the officials to the citizens with no channel provided for feedback or clarity.
Again, attitude from certain neighbourhoods/citizens is a contributing factor as to the lack of participation in public participation exercises. Residents are usually unhappy about the number of times per week or month they are surveyed about their challenges, problems and hopes of the immediate future which lead to them not partaking resulting in a skewed statistic.
In addition, officials also play a major role in the lack of public partaking in surveys as they only release limited information about a particular topic in hand that leads to people not being able to understand what is really expected of them and how to come about reaching a conclusion on that matter, they thus end up awaiting the outcome of the situation of which only the officials may have participated in coming about that decision.
In essence, the society may not see the need to partake is other surveys because of not being given the status of the previous surveys made, but given new ones. In short, I am saying that the officials should first give feedback to the society about topics in hand before moving on to do the next topic. The negative of that will does result to the public not trusting the officials and seeing no need to partake in the surveys.
Residents, I add, should be trained to understand the democratic leadership style that is used in the Republic and how to tackle issues when they arise because clearly, only a few people do understand what is expected of them.
Manipulation, as one of the factors, contributes to non-participation on public participation exercises as citizens are placed on rubberstamp advisory commitees for the express purpose of educating them. Instead of genuine citizen participation, the bottom rung of the ladder signifies the distortion of participation into a public relations vehicle by powerholders
Factors in point form
· Citizens do not know their right, responsibilities and options
· Negative attitude towards participating by citizens
· State releases limited information about the topics in hand
· State rarely gives feedback to the citizens after topic is surveyed and discussed
· Manipulation/agenda setting by the state/officials
Conclusion
In conclusion, there is only a small margin of the republic’s population that takes part in public participation exercises of which do not complement the number. The state needs to do more to catch the interest of the people to participate in those excersies.
Bibliography
· Issues in Political Theory,2008 Catriona McKinnon
· Political Science An Introduction, 1974 Michael Roskin en al
· Aristotle Politics,2000 John Berseth
· Politics The Basics,2008 Stephed D. Tansey and Nigel Jackson
