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Participatory communication in South African municipal government: Matlosana local municipality’s Integrated Development Plan (IDP) processes

Matlosana local municipality’s Integrated Development Plan (IDP) processes

Tshepang Bright Molale
North-West University
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Participatory communication in South African municipal government: Matlosana local municipality’s Integrated Development Plan (IDP) processes. (2022). Communicare: Journal for Communication Studies in Africa, 38(1), 57-75. https://doi.org/10.36615/jcsa.v38i1.1543
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  • Submited: October 7, 2022
  • Published: October 11, 2022

Abstract

The South African Municipal Systems Act (2000) directs South Africa’s municipalities to ensure
that it uses IDP processes as a form of public participation in its affairs. This qualitative study was
conducted in Jouberton Township in the Matlosana local municipality, North West Province, to
assess the extent to which participatory communication takes place in municipal IDP processes.
Using participant observation, semi-structured interviews and focus group discussions, the
study found that community members were passive participators in municipal IDP processes in
which their involvement was limited to being informed about what would happen or had already
happened. Dialogue was facilitated through a top-down modernisation-based approach, and
no evidence emerged of community empowerment in decision making regarding development
projects. The findings suggest a need for the application of bottom-up participatory communication
and “empowered” participation during municipal IDP processes. They also suggest a need for
further research on how “participation as an end” can be theorised in line with participatory
communication in a complex municipal system that already requires “participation as a means”
to achieve certain goals.

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How to Cite
Participatory communication in South African municipal government: Matlosana local municipality’s Integrated Development Plan (IDP) processes. (2022). Communicare: Journal for Communication Studies in Africa, 38(1), 57-75. https://doi.org/10.36615/jcsa.v38i1.1543

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