Disadvantages Of Participatory Governance

Participatory governance is widely accepted and is defined as ‘a regulatory framework in which the task of running public affairs is not solely entrusted to government and public administration, but involves co-operation between state institutions and civil society groups’ (Friedman: 2005).

From the lessons of apartheid, the South African government in place realised that the participation of citizens in decision making processes is vital. Not only is it vital as it seeks to address the imbalances of the past but because it serves as a pillar that strengthens democracy (Friedman: 2005).

As discussed by Barichievy et al. (2005), participatory governance consists of 3 aspects. The first one being the rebuilding of local government, the second

Lack of participation from citizens can lead to the abuse of power as there could be no transparency and accountability local government officers if citizens are absent and do not challenge the government in place.

Nevertheless it must be highlighted that public participation does not only make government open and responsible but it also forces government to act on its promises. These are the promises that they make on their party manifestos, also the promises that they make to the general public when they seeking votes because it cannot be contended that the majority of citizens in developing states, do not even read political party manifestos.

Abbot (1996:68) states that different methods of public participation exist, hence below will be a list together with an explanation of ways in which the public can participate:

Vote in Elections:

In South Africa, this is the most common form of participation. Voting is not only popular at national level but at provincial and as well at local government. In the elections of a municipal council, it is only those residents within the municipality which may vote. All the electoral processes are led by the IEC which is an independent body established by the Constitution (Innes& Booher,

This form of public participation is provided for in the Municipality Systems Act in the sense that it demands the municipality to have community notices about the date, time and venue of a council meeting.

In community meetings, the municipality invites the public to be present at council meetings in order to listen to the issues concerning them. A lot is discussed at community meetings, it can be the proposal of a new project, the development of a project taking place, it could be reports about finances and even the decisions that the municipality will take which may affect them.

Participate in Party Politics:

This is the form of participation where citizens are mostly hesitant even though it is influential because representative democracy can hardly function without political parties. When citizens are involved in political parties especially at local government level their political awareness increases and they get to understand certain structures of local