Under Construction @ Keele 2018 Vol. IV (II) | Page 34

26
changing power relations, while those in power see it as a technique for gaining support and
legitimation. 17 Substantive rationales focus on improvement in the quality of the decisions
being made by taking into consideration the input of ‘nonexperts’ as they add value by seeing
things differently from experts. 18
This direct involvement of the public in local governance is not without its challenges
as there are claims that, in situations where there are far more needs than resources, local
democracy might be conducive to clientelist practices as both local democracy and clientelism,
based on the ‘personalization of relationships between representatives and represented; and
the flexibility and adaptability of rules and policies’ to local contexts. 19
Critics, who are on the ideological left, though not necessarily against participation,
prefer the term ‘invented’ rather than ‘invited’ spaces of participation because they do not trust
the authorities. 20 “Invited” spaces of participation are those that are initiated by government,
and participation is at its will, whereas “invented” spaces are those that are initiated by civil
society groups themselves and are characterised by confrontation towards authorities. 21
However, a criticism against invented spaces is that they are far removed from power and lack
access to resources to initiate transformation. Critics, therefore, argue for taking part in
democratic innovations that have the possibility of enabling genuine participatory governance.
Democratic Innovations in South African local government
The third tier of government in South Africa is that of local government. The local government
tier has three types of municipalities: the local municipality, the district, and the Metro or City
government. The smallest of these are local municipalities that vary in size. For example, the
Drakenstein local municipality has a population of about 27,300 people. A district municipality
is made up of a combination of about five local municipalities, and the Cape Winelands district
municipality consists of the Drakenstein and four other local municipalities – its population is
866,223. There are eight stand-alone Metros or City governments in South Africa, and the
biggest is Johannesburg with a population of about eight million people.
None of these municipalities are exempt from the South African legislation that
supports local participatory governance. Two democratic innovations are noteworthy in this
regard. These are the ward committee structures and community participation in the Integrated
Development Planning process (IDP). Ward committees are standing committees that are
Astrom, “Democratic Innovations”.
Wesselink, “Rationales for Public Participation”, 269.
19 Benit-Gbaffou, “Politicising and Politicking”, 7.
20 Christenson, “Democratic Innovations”.
21 Faranak Miraftab, “Invited and Invented Spances of Participation: Neo-Liberal Citizenship and
Feminists’ Expanded Notions of Politics”, Wagadu, 1 (2004).
17
18