Public participation in democratic governance in South Africa

Abstract

This book examines public participation in democratic governance in South Africa. The South African democracy is fairly new, giving rise to a variety of new channels and processes for public participation. The book focuses on four case studies of public participation: interest group participation in the National Economic Development and Labour Council (NEDLAC); the participation of civil society and the legislatures in the formulation of the budget; public participation in the integrated development planning processes of local government. Each case study outlines a number of opportunities for, and constraints to, public participation in the process of democratic governance.