Ward Committees Research Articles

Understanding peoples’ participation in urban local government in West Bengal

ABSTRACTIn light of the potential of the 74th Constitutional Amendment Act to reinforce participatory practices in Indian cities, this paper, based on field observation from two municipalities of West Bengal, examines the nature of peoples’ participation and identifies the socio-economic factors determining effective participation. It finds that in West Bengal, municipalities’ failures to set up ward committees, the highly partisan nature of the ward committee, and non-occurrence of ward committee meetings made the general population disinterested in utilising these available democratic forum. Elected representatives became the only link between citizens and the municipal administration, and their representation did not necessarily result in effective participation.

THE FACTORS THAT AFFECT PUBLIC PARTICIPATION FOR EFFECTIVE MUNICIPAL SERVICE DELIVERY: A CASE OF WARD COMMITTEES

This study sought to determine the factors that affect public participation (PP) for effective municipal service delivery by interviewing ward committee members in the Ekurhuleni Metropolitan Municipality in South Africa. Data were collected using a semi-structured questionnaire, and factor analysis and structural equation modelling were done. Seven factors were grouped as (1) facilitation of service delivery (SD) factors (i.e., public participation; accountability and transparency; people centeredness; communication; gender representation; and healthy relationships) and (2) factors that impede service delivery (i.e., power struggles). Region, race, and knowledge of the Batho Pele principles determined the perception of SD. The facilitation factors of PP for effective SD should be encouraged, while power struggles must be minimised for effective SD in South Africa.

Challenges Facing the Effective Functioning of Ward Committees as a Mechanism to Promote Local Democracy in the Former Tlokwe Local Municipality (TLM)

This article investigates the challenges facing the effective functioning of ward committees as a mechanism to promote local democracy in the former Tlokwe Local Municipality’s (TLM) area of jurisdiction. Ward committees in South Africa (SA) were specifically established to strengthen the participation of communities in local governance. A qualitative research design was used to collect and analyse data for purposes of achieving the objectives of this study. This involved a literature review designed to contextualise effective ward committee functioning in a developing South Africa. Semi-structured interviews were held with senior officials from TLM. Officials were selected based upon their expert knowledge with regard to the facilitation of public participation and for being responsible for effective ward committee functioning within TLM. Focus group interviews were also held with at least four ward committees operating within the boundaries of the municipality. The purpose of using focus group interviews in this study was to identify specific operational challenges as experienced by the ward committees, including how these challenges affected the fulfilment of their responsibilities. Significant findings include that communication was a critical aspect to address challenges, and that a lack of resources was hampering ward committees in functioning more effectively in the area.

Reconfiguring local governance and community participation in South Africa and Botswana

While the questions of governance and community participation are distinct, their operationalisation in the context of local government is not always mutually exclusive. As a result, issues of governance and community participation have continued to be of interest in most developing countries. For local government as an important sub-national government structure within the Southern African Development Community, there are a myriad of both opportunities and problems associated with the decentralisation of their powers. This article argues for a need to reconfigure governance and community participatory models so as to maintain the relevance of local government structures in African countries. Anstein’s public participation model is propounded for the purpose of analysing these participation models. Embedded in the discussion is the legislative and functional consideration regarding configuration and governance of local government. The examination of the ward committees in South Africa and village development committees in Botswana as institutionalised and legitimate participatory fora for local community members remains a key focus. In the final analysis, an analogue and critique regarding opportunities and challenges for local governance and participation issues in South Africa and Botswana are provided.

Alternative approaches to community participation beyond formal structures: evidence from Langa within the municipality of Cape Town

While ward committees and Integrated Development Planning (IDP) representative forums constitute formal participatory mechanisms in South Africa’s local government, little is known about the potential of local approaches in enhancing participation in municipal planning. This paper examines alternative approaches to participation based on research conducted in Langa – a township situated on the Cape Flats of Cape Town. The paper highlights approaches to residents’ participation in planning tested during the ‘interregnum’ – the period when ward committees are in abeyance due to elections. The study found that, while IDP participatory processes facilitated awareness of participation, ward councillors were crucial in operationalising participation that reflects the diversity of the community.

Provider and patient perceptions of malaria rapid diagnostic test use in Nigeria: a cross-sectional evaluation

BackgroundNigeria commenced a phased programmatic deployment of rapid diagnostic tests (RDT) at the primary health care (PHC) facility levels since 2011. Despite various efforts, the national testing rate for malaria is still very low. The uptake of RDT has been variable. This study was undertaken to determine the provider and patient perceptions to RDT use at the PHC level in Nigeria with their implications for improving uptake and compliance.MethodsA cross-sectional survey was conducted in 120 randomly selected PHCs across six states, across the six-geopolitical zones of Nigeria in January 2013. Health facility staff interviews were conducted to assess health workers (HW) perception, prescription practices and determinants of RDT use. Patient exit interviews were conducted to assess patient perception of RDT from ten patients/caregivers who met the eligibility criterion and were consecutively selected in each PHC, and to determine HW’s compliance with RDT test results indirectly. Community members, each selected by their ward development committees in each Local Government Area were recruited for focus group discussion on their perceptions to RDT use.ResultsHealth workers would use RDT results because of confidence in RDT results (95.4%) and its reduction in irrational use of artemisinin-based combination therapy (ACT) (87.2%). However, in Enugu state, RDT was not used by health workers because of the pervasive notion RDT that results were inaccurate. Among the 1207 exit interviews conducted, 549 (45.5%) had received RDT test. Compliance rate (administering ACT to positive patients and withholding ACT from negative patients) from patient exit interviews was 90.2%. Among caregivers/patients who had RDT done, over 95% knew that RDT tested for malaria, felt it was necessary and liked the test. Age of patients less than 5 years (p = 0.04) and “high” educational status (p = 0.0006) were factors influencing HW’s prescription of ACT to RDT negative patients.ConclusionThe study demonstrated positive perception to RDT use by HW and among community members with good compliance rate among health workers at the PHC level. This positive perception should be explored in improving the current low level of malaria testing in Nigeria while addressing the influence of age on HW administration of ACT to RDT negative cases.

Community development workers as agents of change and conduit of authentic public participation: The case of Mpumalanga Province in South Africa

This article explores the role of community development workers (CDWs) in the Mpumalanga Province of South Africa. The CDWs are by law expected to regularly communicate, inter alia, government initiatives in a way which is easily accessible to community members. Literature shows that the CDWs forward concerns and issues on the service provided by national and provincial government in general, and local government to be specific. This article acknowledges that CDWs share the working space with Ward Committees who have a direct say in the planning, decision-making and project implementation that have impact on their respective wards. The question that this article attempts to answer is whether the establishment of CDWs in the country has achieved the desired result to the extent that it can be recommended for permanent incorporation in the local municipality structures. The research design used in this article was a qualitative method. Data were collected through extensive review of public documents, accredited journal articles, observations and interviews. The results showed that the CDWs coordinate teams of volunteers in community projects, coordinate teams employed on public works programmes, help communities develop and submit proposals for inclusion in integrated development plans to municipalities, and other spheres of government or donors. Furthermore, the roles and functions of both CDWs and Ward Committees do overlap. It is very difficult for the local communities to differentiate between these two structures.

The notion of participatory democracy in relation to local ward committees: The distribution of power

This article comprises four important parts: first, the two important components of democracy, namely participatory and non-participatory or representative democracy will be discussed with special reference to the distribution of powers. Second, it will address the roles and responsibilities of ward committees within the democratic society. Third, the ethical question of the basis of the committee members’ capacity to serve on the ward committees in relation to coercive leadership (tyranny of the majority) will be investigated. Fourth, the theological standpoint on the distribution of powers or participatory democracy and the role of the church to improve participatory democracy will be discussed. The research question is the following: What can be done by the country to improve participatory democracy in South Africa, through engagement with ward committees?

Enhancing the leadership of ward councillors through emotional intelligence - the case of the Buffalo City Metropolitan Municipality

This article focuses on how emotional intelligence could be utilised to enhance the leadership skill of ward councillors in the Buffalo City Metropolitan Municipality. In this article, the concept of emotional intelligence is considered to include aspects such as self-awareness, motivation, self-management, social awareness, relationship management and empathy. Data were collected through focus group interviews, questionnaires and a review of relevant literature. The focus group interviews conducted with ward committee members revealed that members of the public perceived a lack of communication with and trust in ward councillors, among other things, to be contributory factors to escalating challenges in the municipal area, such as service delivery protests and strikes. The article suggests that the development of emotional intelligence by ward councillors could benefit them as political leaders.

Contesting ‘invited spaces’: where a ward committee and a social movement meet

Since the late 1990s the South African state has placed a large emphasis on the restructuring of local government to be more participatory, and the creation of ward committees was one outcome of this process. Simultaneously there has been a rise in social movements which serve to represent the needs of the poor and marginalised who have seemingly been ignored by the state’s neoliberal policies. This paper focuses on a local government ward committee (WC) and a social movement organisation (SMO)–the Thembelihle Crisis Committee (TCC)–within the context of the Thembelihle informal settlement in Johannesburg. The former is an ‘invited participatory space’ which has been created by the state to invite residents to participate. The latter is an ‘invented participatory space’ created from below by the grassroots, through which residents assert their agency as active community members. Many scholars have conceptualised these participatory spaces as separate and distinct. Subsequently, ‘invited spaces’ were labelled as pseudo-democratic, state controlled, and hence there was the suggestion that they should be abandoned, while ‘invented spaces’ were perceived as more accurately reflecting the views and needs of the poor in South Africa. More recently, scholars such as Claire Bénit-Gbaffou and Mkwanazi (2015), and Luke Sinwell (2012) have begun to argue that the binary of invited and invented is too simplistic. They have urged that we look more closely at the relationship between these two spaces as opposed to setting them apart. This paper attempts to argue that invented spaces can contest the invited spaces of the state. The concept of contesting ‘invited space’ will be used to reconsider invited spaces by more accurately analysing the interface of the ‘invited’ and the ‘invented’. By analysing how and where the two meet, we begin to see what happens when a powerful SMO inserts itself onto the invited space of a ‘second generation’ ward committee.

Analysing Community Participation in the Municipal Integrated Development Planning Processes in Limpopo Province, South Africa

Despite stipulations in relevant local government legislations for effective local involvement in development planning, most studies indicate that there is limited participation among local communities in the municipal integrated development planning processes in South Africa. Hence, this study aims to explore the views of officers and community representatives regarding the level of community participation in Integrated Development Plans (IDPs) in Polokwane, Lepelle-Nkumpi and Aganang local municipalities in Limpopo. Techniques such as interviews, group discussions and questionnaire were used to collect data. The findings from interviews and group discussions indicated that community members mainly participate in providing information about their needs and aspirations during consultation meetings of integrated development planning processes organized by the local municipal officers. The attitudinal analysis shows that the majority of the respondents acknowledged that the local municipalities role is limited in promoting community participation. Likewise, the analysis on the degree of response revealed the key factors that affect the local participation, inter alia: low sense of ownership of development initiatives; limited capacity of the municipality; absence of voluntary community associations; non-functionality of ward committee; and exclusion of some groups. Therefore, it is recommended that local municipalities should focus on: encouraging the establishment of voluntary community associations; ensuring the proper functionality of ward committee in mobilising and exchanging information; ensuring the inclusion of disadvantaged and marginalised groups in development processes; building the institutional capacity; and developing sense of ownership within communities regarding municipal on-going and completed projects. DOI: 10.5901/mjss.2014.v5n25p257

Occupying Umlazi: Hesitant Steps Towards Political Ideology in a Durban Township

Umlazi is considered the second most populated African township in South Africa, after Soweto. Located in southwestern Durban, Umlazi has long been a site of community movements, especially during apartheid. Umlazi's Ward 88 was a site of political revival in 2012, a time when ideas unified people and motivated them to pursue a common goal. The name of those ideas was ‘Occupy’, following a film screening of the 2011 Occupy movement. There are a variety of lessons from assessing several weeks of protest marred by state violence, followed by a Ward Committee election won by the Occupy movement, followed by uneven access to development resources. The ebb and flow of ideology is one such lesson: it is a necessary part of moving from local to global, to address both deep problems and the politicians who sustain them.

Citizen Participation in Local Government: The Importance of Effective Communication in Rural Development

In societies around the world there is a concern over the plight of poverty. In South Africa, years of active discrimination policy making and neglect have resulted in high levels of inequality characterized by extreme wealth on one hand and desperate poverty on the other. These activities left rural areas, mostly occupied by blacks in underdeveloped state while the urban areas, mostly occupied by whites are developed. This situation alienated poor communities to take active role in matters of governance and their development. The dawn of democracy in 1994 saw the inclusive democratic government having to strengthen communication between government institution and its communities and also to harness community participation. A qualitative study was conducted in Mutale local municipality, Vhembe district in Limpopo Province of South Africa where unstructured interviews were conducted to focus groups including ward committee members, traditional leadership and management. The study revealed that despite a number of communication mechanism and models implemented by Government, there is communication gap between government institutions and communities they serve. This demands for a new model of communication aimed at community participation and rural development. This communication gap makes the community members feel alienated from government initiatives and projects in general. They therefore do not feel they are part of government and do not take active role in matters of governance and those that are aimed at improving their living conditions. This continues to hinder rural development and the objectives of developmental rural government; that of the government that seek to empower communities through harnessing their full participation.

Committees, witchdoctors and the ‘mother-body’: Everyday politics in the township of Cato Manor, South Africa

The Township of Cato Manor (in eThekwini) has benefitted from a decade of state investment in housing, services and infrastructure. Alongside this, formal governance structures have been established, in particular the Ward Committee, which forms the key de jure seat of governance in the settlement. In reality, however, its functioning is compromised because of a range of wider power struggles over which it has little control. This paper explores how processes of the formalisation of organisations (see Oldfield, 2008), and the ‘dominant party syndrome’ (see Piper & Deacon, 2008) have directly shaped the performance of local politics within the area. A key example offered in this paper of the power of national politics at the local level is provided by an analysis of the local Branch Executive Committee of the African National Congress (ANC, aptly described as ‘the mother-body’, within Cato Crest, an area of Cato Manor. In addition, governance at the everyday level is shaped by a scattered range of formal and less formal committees, as well as reliance on various religious and traditional bodies and individuals, including witchdoctors. Thus, governance within Cato Crest is not typified by a singular coherent ward committee, but rather by a variety of competing committees and structures with varying roles and powers.

Decentralized Urban Governance

One of the major promises of decentralization is that it brings popular participation and accountability to local governance and, therefore, makes local government more responsive to citizens’ desires and more effective in delivering services. The 74th Constitutional Amendment Act in India provides the much needed platform to operationalize the rhetoric of decentralization into reality. This amendment marks a distinct watershed in the concept and practice of citizens’ participation in urban governance. Acknowledging the importance of participation in democratic local government, this article, using primary data, evaluates the implications of constitutional provisions for participation and accountability at the municipal level in West Bengal. The study finds that a large gap exists between the rhetoric surroundings the constitutional provisions and their actual implementations. Political nature of the ward committee and thin attendance of the citizens in the meetings put a question mark on the efficacy of the WC as a true participative forum at the municipal level. The numerical representation has not transformed into effective representation with respect to participation of elected representatives and their accountability in municipal governments.

The ANC and power concentration in South Africa: does local democracy allow for power-sharing?

Concentration of power in the hands of the executive is one of the key challenges to democratic consolidation in Africa. Since the early 1990s, the African National Congress (ANC) has won each national election with up to two-thirds of the votes in South Africa. At the same time, the governing ANC has introduced a process of democratic decentralization. This contribution focuses on the question: to what extent does this process allow for increased power-sharing in South Africa? By analysing the results of two local elections this contribution shows that in seven out of nine provinces the opposition parties are ineffective in challenging the hegemony of the ANC. The analysis then goes on to examine three institutional mechanisms which are likely to have an effect on inter-party relations in-between elections, i.e. floor crossing, ward committees and the electoral system. This in-depth examination shows how these three institutional mechanisms, while not directly restricting opposition parties' opportunity to compete, favour the governing party. Yet, as opposition parties are free to govern small pockets of power, the leadership of the ANC restricts itself and abides by the existing democratic rules. At the same time it needs to be kept in mind that it is the ANC who makes those rules and like any other party in power, they want to retain it.

Civil Society Organisation Partnerships in Urban Governance: An Appraisal of the Mumbai Experience

This paper reviews the role of civil society organisation partnerships in urban governance through an analysis of the Advanced Locality Management groups and the NGO Council in Mumbai. The exclusive and restrictive nature of these partnerships with the municipal corporation are brought out by highlighting their non-representative nature, class character, and a particularised vision about the city by which a large section of citizens falls in the category of 'illegality'. Instead of strengthening existing decentralised institutions (like the ward committees), their efforts are directed towards bypassing them and the elected representatives and creating high profile networks with the executive wing of the municipal corporation. The partnerships treat issues from a managerial perspective and ignore the importance of the 'illegal' populace who are inextricably tied to the political economy of the mega city.

Assessing the Impact of Social Capital and Trust on Active Citizenship in Bonteheuwel, Cape Town

The neo-liberal model of democracy emphasizes the importance of ordinary citizens engaging the state on issues affecting their day-to-day lives. In this regard the South African state introduced structures and institutions to facilitate engagements with ordinary citizens. The effectiveness of these institutions and structures, however, is influenced by a number of variables. Amongst other things, social capital is considered a key element to facilitating engagement between the state and citizens. In fact the South African state specifically invested in nurturing social capital in disadvantaged and marginalized communities through the introduction of structures such as ward committees. These committees were designed to act as agencies between the state and local communities through the activities of sector representatives and ward councillors. However, various political and social factors rendered the intentions of the ward committees dysfunctional in certain cases. It is in this context that the paper furthers the examination of the relationship of social capital and trust on active citizenship. It concludes that communities with social capital and trust were more active at exercising their citizenship than communities where social capital and trust is low. However, the results also suggest that trust is a more influential variable than social capital.

Too Dependent to Participate: Ward Committees and Local Democratisation in South Africa

Will participatory local government structures help deepen democracy in South Africa? That is the proclaimed purpose of the ward committee system, the centre-piece of post-apartheid local government reform, intended to facilitate deliberative democratic decision making. Drawing on a case study of the Msunduzi municipality, it is argued here that ward committees, as yet barely functional seven years since first being established, have from the outset been caught up in relations of dependency with ward councillors, political parties and the municipality itself, and that these relations threaten to undermine the democratic dividends that the committees are expected to yield.

Undermining S'Swetla residents through participation: Towards the abandonment of institutionalised participatory processes?

The available scholarship on participation and local democracy in the South African context has focused primarily on the limitations of local government councilors, ward committees and development forums to enable effective participation by communities. This article investigates the role of participatory institutions in the Alexandra Renewal Project (ARP), a R 1.3 billion national flagship project intended to improve the lives the previously excluded majority. Drawing from a case study in S'swetla, an informal settlement in Alexandra where the ARP sought to relocate shack dwellers, the article illustrates the process through which agents are manipulated through participatory processes in the ARP. It then concludes by arguing that scholars in the South African context may need to go beyond describing the limitations of participatory processes. They must also begin to ask what might happen without these kinds of participatory institutions and whether or not they should be abandoned completely.