Kellogg Project

10 September 2008

The project focuses on the rural community of uMhlabuyalingana, which falls within the uMkhanyakude District Municipality. It considers the extent to which this community participates in local government structures, processes and socio-economic development initiatives. Given the complex nature of governance and policy making processes, the project pays special attention to community capacity to participate effectively, or its lack thereof.

Guided by the above, the project explores the implications that capacity deficits hold for the politics of consolidating at the local level, a brand of democracy that prioritises and values human rights including the right of ordinary people to effectively participate in governance processes, institutions and services. Public participation is thus conceptualised within a human rights framework – one that seeks to strengthen and advance equal public participation in the political, social and economic processes of governing a developmental state.

Through a process of information gathering, innovative research and critical analysis, impact driven engagement and dialogue – carried out within the local governance sphere and among this poor and rural community – the state of public participation in South Africa will be assessed with the view to confronting community capacity challenges around participation in the governance arena. The aim is to deal in a scientific and pragmatic way with, both government and the community, in terms of behaviour, attitudes and capacity with regards to participation and the role that participation should play in influencing policy formulation and implementation, democracy and human rights. For instance the poor have a right to be heard and understood as this has implications for the overarching goal of building and consolidating democratic governance and improving standards of citizen access to government services and institutions and improved quality of service delivery.

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