By Gugu Mgwebi

The debate over economic and social development in developing countries almost invariably reflects a pursuit of social justice. In many societies, ways are being sought on how to promote self-reliant development devoid of perpetual dependence on external assistance.

For this to be possible, the central focus of development should not be on merely providing people with handouts and freebies. Instead, it should be on fostering and enhancing people's capability to be role players in their own development. People should be willingly involved in a wide range of development activities as role players and beneficiaries of development. In promoting self-reliance, particularly within rural communities, the process of citizen participation must not be transient, but rather ongoing and sustainable.

Public Participation

This, however, depends on the quality of support that is given to communities in an effort to wean them of dependency. There is need for the facilitation of long-term participation and self-reliance. This may involve helping people to form groups, giving them access to credit and basic business and project management skills. As things stand, such help has not been forthcoming and what is in existence (in the form of opportunities for actual participation) is grossly inadequate.

Recognising Real Participation
“Participatory approaches will flounder if people believe that they are being used to legitimise decisions that have already been taken, or that the result of their efforts will not matter in the long run. Citizens and civic groups will quickly recognise when a process is a mask for a top down decision implementation and when the views of the participants are genuinely sought.” (Manor, 2001)


As a starting point, for people to arrive at good, rational decisions, they need to be adequately informed about what choices or options exist and how they could take advantage of such opportunities. In many cases, government and its local agencies charged with the role of ensuring access to information necessary to enable people to pursue gainful ventures have failed either inadvertently or because of sheer lack of innovativeness in how to make this work. Quite often, initiatives meant to help the broader community have ended up propping up just a few people. This not only undermines development but it also breeds discontent and alienation of huge sections of the population who nurse the feeling that the state has deliberately marginalised them.

Good Governance

Currently, self-reliant communities are scarce. A culture of ignorance regarding local government processes has developed. Individuals need to realise that participation in municipal decision-making processes—from the planning and the implemention, through to monitoring, evaluation and final decision-making—has a positive effect on their communities and the development that takes place. Community participation in governance and developmental processes is a key indicator of good governance practice. It also helps to minimise cases of corruption, because the decision-making process is opened up and inclusive of the various stakeholder interests.

A lack of government transparency coupled with extensive corruption has a negative effect on social development. Through public participation, these negative practices can be stopped, because communities will be involved in all phases of development, which forces local government to adopt transparent and accountable processes.

It is important for municipalities to assess alongside communities what municipal actions are most needed in their areas. Consulting community members ensures they are empowered in the decision-making process. Community members will only get involved in these processes if there is political will on the part of municipal leadership. The next step would be to build capacity both in the municipality and at the community level, and to develop an understanding of the policy framework and process, as well as to enhance technical and planning capacities. Local government should draw on the expertise of Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs) in providing support to participatory initiatives.   

In order to create the conditions for promoting sustainable participation, local governments must start implementing policy and allow institutions that guarantee political and economic freedoms as well as strive to meet a broader range of basic human needs, including food, housing, health and education. Government needs to interact with civil society in order to remove obstacles to economic participation, improve financial management, build infrastructure, and train business people and entrepreneurs. These are important building blocks for sustainable communities.

[sidebar] [title] Informed Decisions
“Right to know legislation is based on the logic that better information enables decision-makers to make better decisions, broad access to information promotes better decisions by mobilising demand for sustainable solutions to problems and access to information empowers citizens to taking a more active role in providing improved performance independently of the state.” (Willard and Halder, 2003)
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Taking Ownership of Decisions

On its part, civil society has a responsibility to use the available platforms of engagement and participation. Communities and civil society organisations can play a critical role in collecting and disseminating information regarding the government’s activities. Civil society need to utilise participation spaces provided for under the constitution and various other pieces of legislation. By doing so, they add value to our participatory democracy and help to energise meaningful community participation at the local level.

Legislation, such as the Municipal Finance Management Act, requires the following:
•    Municipal budgets and other finance documents must be made available to the public after tabling in council.
•    Council must allow for public representations on the budget committee.
•    The Accounting Officer must put key information on the website, for example budgets, annual reports, performance agreements, service delivery agreements, and partnership agreements.
•    The National Treasury must intervene in cases where municipalities face a financial crisis.

Both the general public and civil society should understand that the effects of enhancing people's sustainable participatory capabilities and improving government services do not become visible in the short run. There are neither quick-fixes nor easy victories. Government has to be kept on its toes and this is a solemn duty to those being governed – it is a way of helping the government to deliver on its mandate. In all this communities must take an active role in trying to attain self-reliance. The state only has limited resources and the current social welfare grants may not and indeed should not be a permanent feature of our economy.


References:
•    Baker K. 2004, The information divide: publishing and accessing issues, National Library of South Africa
•    http//www.cpp.org.za
•    The Constitution of South Africa, 1996
•    Local Government: Municipal Finance Management Act 56 of 2003
•    Lynn S.R. 2003, Economic development: Theory and practice for a divided world, New Jersey, Pearson Education Inc.
•    Manor, J. 2004, Democratisation with Inclusion: Political Reforms and People’s Empowerment at the grassroots, Journal of Human, Vol 5 no 1: 5-29 Development
•    Willard, T. & Halder, M. , 2003, Paper: Information Society and Sustainable Development: Exploring the Linkages