Perceptions on the Institutionalization of Public Participation in South Africa

Abstract

In democratic systems, public participation is understood to be complementary to
representative democracy whereby regular parliamentary elections are held. The elected
representatives are expected to engage the public in decision-making processes to enhance
transparency and trust. Representative democracy additionally calls for the establishment
of public participation platforms for engaging the citizenry in all public affairs. Moreover,
the rationale for public participation advocates for the public to actively participate in the
development of plans at the formative stage, rather than after officials have committed to
particular choices. A self administered questionnaire survey was conducted to assess the
perceptions of the Members of the Provincial Legislature, Parliamentary Constituency
Officers and administrative staff on how public participation has been institutionalized in
the Gauteng Provincial Legislature. The results of the survey show that the Gauteng
Provincial Legislature is not adequately engaging its people in decision-making processes
as per the constitutional mandate as provided for in the Constitution of the Republic of
South Africa, 1996. The research supports the notion that a direct democracy is not feasible
in modern nations, but it is important to have a model of democracy that will provide the
best possible degree of direct popular public participation.