Seminar Information

On15 August 2008 Afesis-corplan and the PCRD hosted a Good Governance Learning Network (GGLN) sponsored learning event in East London. Titled ‘Towards Municipal Transparency: Advancing Pro-poor Information Dissemination’, the aim of the event was to provide a platform for constructive debate on the strategies of promoting pro-poor information dissemination.

Findings drawn from various developmental projects in communities in and around the Eastern Cape Province (e.g. Good Governance Surveys and Ward level Key Performance Indicators) have shown that the public generally lack empowering local information. This has impacted negatively on their ability to participate in the decision-making processes at that level. Structures that are meant to be the main vehicles for participation i.e. give civil society a voice, such as ward committees constantly find themselves incapable of holding the local government accountable simply because they do not know how. They also either have no access to the vital administrative information that is needed to perform that function or the scant information available might not have much meaning to them.

The White Paper on Local Government visualises a process where communities will be involved in governance matters and communities must be empowered to identify their needs, set performance indicators and targets thereby holding municipalities accountable for their performance in service delivery. The Access to Information Act (2000) provides for fostering a culture of transparency and accountability in public and private bodies by giving effect to the right of access to information. It actively promotes a society in which the people of South Africa have effective access to information to enable them to more fully exercise and protect all of their rights.

Against this backdrop, the learning event provided an opportunity for GGLN members and other stakeholders to share experiences and research findings of working with communities and municipalities in assisting them to comply with pieces of legislation that govern the flow of information such as the Access to Information Act as per the Access to Information Act No.2 (2000) and the Municipal Systems Act (2000).

Click here to view the programme and presentations.

Click here to read Bonginkosi Masiwa's article "Deepening democracy through access to information."

The topic for our seminar held in June was inspired by the recent National Youth and Infrastructure Summit hosted by the DPLG in partnership with the National Youth Commission and South African Local Government Association that took place in March 2008.

The seminar formed part of the National Youth Month activities and provided a platform for deliberations on how youth development issues can best be mainstreamed particularly in the Eastern Cape.

The event focused on the following issues:

• Mainstreaming youth development at local government level
• The role of the youth in the decision making processes
• The role of student movements in shaping youth participation in development
• Local programmes targeted at the youth in the Eastern Cape
• The purpose of the established Local Youth Units
• Contributions made by key stakeholders towards the development of the youth

Speakers

• National and Provincial Youth Bodies
• Government – DPLG
• Local Government
• Youth Organisations and civil society
• Student organisations

Date
Friday 13 June 2008

Time
Registration from 08h45

Venue
Health Resource Centre, East London

Cost
No charge

Click here to access the presentations from this seminar

Our most recent seminar held on 14 March 2008 at the Health Resource Centre in East London provided a platform for local government, civil society organisations and the public to find ways of improving meaningful citizen participation in municipal budgeting.

Participants at the seminar had the opportunity to:

• better understand the current budgeting process;
• explore the legislative framework of community participation in the budgeting process;
• evaluate whether the current budgeting process allows for sufficient public participation;
• elaborate on the role of civil society in the budgeting process; and
• consider ways of improving community participation in budgeting.

Guest speakers included respresentatives from the Department of Provincial and Local Government (DPLG), a councillor from Amathole District Municipality (ADM) and the Chairperson of the Port Alfred Ratepayers' and Residents' Association (PARRA).

Click here to view the full programme.

Click here to view the presentations.

Click here to read our article "Public participation in LG processes still wanting"

The Local Government Unit of Afesis-corplan hosted its final seminar for the year on 16 November 2007 at the Health Resource Centre in East London. The theme was "Using Human Rights to assess Local Government Performance - A South African Perspective".

The seminar provided an opportunity for stakeholders to explore the interface between local governance and human rights as set out and guided by the relevant legislation in South Africa. Discussions focused on the realisation of all rights at the local level.

Guest speakers included Ms Lindelwa Mngcita (Human Rights Commission), Ms Berita Kopolo (University of Fort Hare), Mr Mukelani Dimba (Open Democracy Advice Centre) and Dr Costa Gazi (Councillor, Buffalo City Municipality).

View the full programme.

View the presentations and papers.

View the article "Human Rights & Local Governance: The Status Quo".

Afesis-corplan hosted its third quarterly seminar for 2007 on Friday, 14 September at the Health Resource Centre in East London. The focus was on the Department of Provincial and Local Government’s (DPLG) process of formulating a new White Paper on provincial government and reviewing the current White Paper on Local Government. The seminar successfully brought together stakeholders from universities, organised civil society and the general public to participate in the policy process. Speakers from the DPLG, civil society, political parties and academia gave presentations. This was followed by a plenary discussion.

Click here for presentations from the seminar.

Click here for Transformer newsletter article: From Community Participation to 'Ownership'.

Click here for BuaNews feature article: Citizens should take part in Local Govt. Review

Click here for Policy Process on the system of Provincial and Local Government.

Click here for the current White Paper on Local Government.

Afesis-corplan's second seminar for this year took place on 22 June 2007 at the Health Resource Centre in East London. Co-hosted by our Local Government and Settlement Units, the theme was "Experiences in People's Housing Process (PHP)". The purpose of the seminar was to learn from PHP experiences and to obtain an update on the status of PHP in the country.

Speakers with an NGO/CBO perspective were Ronald Eglin (Afesis-corplan), Moegsien Hendricks (Development Action Group), Evelyn Benekane and Ana Estavao (Federation of the Urban and Rural Poor). Speakers from government were Xolani Nondwangu (Amathole District Municipality) and Odette Crofton (National Department of Housing).

The participants included about fifty people from targeted government structures and community-based organisations within the Amathole District Municipality area.

View the programme here.

View the presentations available from this seminar.

View the questions and answers session here.

View the article "Community-driven housing initiatives".

Our first seminar for 2007 took place on 23 March at the Buffalo Club in East London. About 70 delegates, mainly from academia and the NGO sector supported the event.

The aim was to give a platform for the continuation of the debate on the role of civil society in issues of development and governance. This could further improve state-civil society relations and partnerships between the state and civil society especially those NGOs that are working in the local government sphere.

The intention of the seminar was also to foster ties and partnerships within civil society so as to have a common stance on issues pertaining to state-civil society relations. The main focus, however, was on the activities of good governance oriented NGOs.

The guest speakers included Ms Makoma Lekalakala (Anti-privatisation Forum), Prof. Leslie Bank (Fort Hare University), Mr Mukelani Dimba (Open Democracy Advice Centre) and Mr Ebrahim Fakir (Centre for Policy Studies).

Read the article Interference or Aid: Evaluating the role of NGOs in Developmental Local Governance.

View the presentations available for this seminar.

Our final seminar for 2006 was held on the 29 and 30 November 2006 at Inkwenkwezi Private Game Reserve.

The event was hosted by Afesis-corplan in collaboration with Mbumba Development Services and Water, Engineering and Development Centre (WEDC) based at Loughborough University.

The aim was to further understand the impact of corruption on local governance and the efficacy of both state-led and civil society interventions to combat corruption. The seminar also provided an opportunity to overview international patterns in this regard and to consider case studies from other countries that offer useful lessons and best practices in addressing corruption.

Read the article Multi-sector Strategy against Corruption.

View the presentations available for this seminar.