The role of ward committees in enhancing participatory local governance : a case study of KwaMaphumulo Municipality.
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Date
2011
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Abstract
To strengthen democracy, the South African government established
the ward committee system in accordance with Sections 72-78 of the
Municipal Structures Act, 1998. The objective was to improve service
delivery by bridging the gap between the respective communities and
the municipal structures. Ward committees should be able to enhance
participatory government. Public participation is essentially a process
that engages communities from the planning to the implementation
and the evaluation phases of a particular activity or a project. The
ward committee structure should focus on increasing the involvement
of the municipal communities when decisions are made within the
local government sphere. The primary objective of this research was
to establish the role of ward committees in enhancing local
governance, with particular reference to Maphumulo Municipality. The
objectives of the study were to provide an overview of the new
mandate for future ward committees and trends in local governance
affairs; review the roles of ward committees and transformation
processes with particular reference to Maphumulo Municipality; and
evaluate the concept of ward committees in the context of
participatory developmental local government and the mandate
enshrined in the Constitution. The study employed both qualitative
and quantitative approaches to understand the scope and nature
under which ward committees operate to enhance local governance.
The research has established that there are still important aspects
regarding the roles of ward committees and community participation
on which Maphumulo Municipality has still to improve. The
municipality structures, particularly the Public Participation Unit,
should work closely with the ward committees so that they will be
able to drive community initiatives.
Description
Thesis (MPA)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Westville, 2011.
Keywords
Local government--KwaZulu-Natal--Maphumulo--Citizen participation., Rural development--KwaZulu-Natal--Maphumulo., Community development--KwaZulu-Natal--Maphumulo., Theses--Public administration.