The Impact of Civic Participation on the Implementation of Integrated Development Plans, Service Delivery and the Mechanisms That Enhance Participation and the Causes of Apathy

Abstract

The local sphere of government forms part of the South African public sector which is the closest to citizens and is therefore indispensable in its role of providing essential goods, and services and developing the local areas. Integrated development planning (IDP) is a key instrument which municipalities can adopt to provide vision, leadership, and direction for all those who have a role to play in the development of a municipal area. The South African government introduced IDP as a five-year plan that was meant to alleviate service delivery ineffectiveness and inefficiencies within municipalities. For the IDP to be a success, it is vital for citizens to fully participate in the process of planning. In a democratic regime, civic participation is a priority in local government affairs; this is because municipalities are given the responsibility to ensure the well-being of communities within their jurisdiction. This paper seeks to investigate the impact of civic participation on the implementation of the IDP and service delivery. Civic participation is vital for the smooth operation of a democratic local government, in other words, civic participation functions as a catalyst to the local government, meaning it helps to speed up the democratic process. It is therefore important to discuss mechanisms that can be utilised to enhance civic participation as well as the causes of civic apathy in local government affairs.