The research study emphasizes the significance of public participation in integrated development planning at the local level of government in South Africa. The introduction of a democratic dispensation highlighted the idea of public participation and placed it in the spotlight. The typology is described and presented within the locus and focus of municipal strategic management, and the context and operation of development planning in the current local government dispensation. The literature review presents a theoretical analysis of the local government systems and processes necessary for enhanced citizen participation, and further examines integrated development planning as a strategic communication tool that emphasizes the social praxis of ongoing dialogue with local communities. Furthermore, a concentration on public administration within municipal strategic governance, integrated development planning and public participation will facilitate an in-depth coverage of materials relating to developmental governance within the current context in South Africa. Much has happened to affect the field of local government in South Africa. Of significance, is the impact of public participation via integrated development planning. An integrated development plan is therefore regarded as a strategic management tool that serves as a guideline and informs all planning activities, outcomes, outputs and impact of a municipality. The emphasis, therefore, of this research is centred around an evaluation of eThekwini Municipality's strategic plan focusing on public participation in its integrated development plan which feeds into its Long Term Development Plan (LTDF) for 2020, an analysis of the roles of key stakeholders in the political-management interface between the Council and local communities, and the integration of municipal resources in its long-term planning activities and developmental outcomes. This enquiry therefore culminated in an extensive literature review of municipal strategic planning in eThekwini Municipality within KwaZulu-Natal. Citizen participation through the integrated development plan ought to be viewed as simple and uncomplicated, and is aimed at increasing levels of education and literacy amongst local communities. To this end, the Municipality focuses its integrated development plan on Umsebenzi (Keeping You Informed). Through its strategic approach that "citizens are the centre of the focus, and not an add on through mere political rhetoric", the integrated development plan can serve as an archetype of strong civic-focused leadership. Moving beyond urban pathologies and local bureaucracies and despite a promising and sophisticated institutional framework for public participation, there is still a lack of participation in the local government structures. One of the factors that help to make the public participation cliché move beyond mere lip service is active engagement or holistic integration. The research examines and analyzes some of the factors for poor or non-performance in the municipal dichotomy, and the dynamics of public participation in integrated development planning amidst metropolitan urban management. The research arrays the study in a framework that leads to some key recommendations, and brings the following observations to light: • Ensure that the municipal functionaries and the local communities are oriented for more constructive and robust engagement of civil society issues; • Investment in strengthening local governing capacities because municipalities need increased emphasis on strategic planning as opposed to master-planning mechanistic models; • Focus on pragmatism and the promotion of joint learning through genuine interaction with local communities using the bottom-up approach as opposed to a top-down approach; • Undertake research and take proactive steps to manage dynamic climate change in response to economic and socio-environmental needs and sustainable development; • Facilitate social programmes which will emphasis and illustrate the potential development axis, and serve as connexions aimed at addressing grassroots issues and delivering visible and practical outcomes via the integrated development plan, and • Establishing a co-operative community culture invoked by civic pride and public involvement. From the afore-going discussion, the research emphasizes that each trait and focus of development is a distinct variable, and can lead to a new kind of experimentalism when working with local communities, which can contribute to mutual enrichment for urban efficiency and community satisfaction. The outputs of strategic interventions by municipalities affect the communities and help shape their subsequent inputs. Finally, the satisfaction of public desires depends on aspirations, as well as achievements. / Thesis (Ph.D.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Westville, 2008.

The study is a monograph on participation in local government in South Africa. Participation is framed within the theoretical perspectives of representative democracy and its off-shoot, deliberative democracy. The research draws from three conceptual aspects: the main theories of democracy and participation contemplating the local sphere of government; the policy framework staging the interactions between the key participants, namely, local government and civil society formations; and the institutional spaces, values and attitudes involved therein. The problematique of the research in terms of the three conceptual aspects are: to show that representative democracy has declined in favour of participation praxis; to assess policy coherence for effective participation at the local sphere; and to examine the accommodation of new participative spaces. To this end, the research undertook an extensive literature review and an empirical study of the eThekwini Municipal Area, in the Province of KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. The literature review indicated three learnings. Firstly, there was a decline in representative democracy, with decreasing emphasis on the electoral mode of politics. Rather, the tendency shifted towards supplementation with forms of public participation. Public participation and engagement developed into an off-shoot of representative democracy, now known pervasively as deliberative democracy and discursive democracy. The basis of these new democratic approaches means that citizens ought to have a hand in, and influence public decisions. Secondly, participation has taken new democratic forms that could be viewed alternatively as space; dialogue and deliberation; rights; development; decentralization; and accountability. Thirdly, new spaces for participation could be viewed in the form of political society and social capital vis-a-vis international agreements; poverty eradication; public administration; and the combined import of administrative law and judicial review. In terms of the aims of the study, the work revealed that the participatory framework is based upon extensive theoretical and policy understandings. Participation is adequately captured in constitutional and legislative instruments in South Africa. The Draft National Policy Framework for Public Participation, 2005 is a concrete outcome of South African local government preparedness to engage in meaningful participative discourse and praxis. In terms of the research problems of the study, the work concluded the following: • there is agreement on the part of stakeholders for engagement in parallel representative and participative forms of governance; • local government participative policy appears sound but there is a need for convergent understanding on the part of the different participants, namely, municipal councillors; community stakeholders; and actors within the municipality; and • there is evidence of contrasting debates on aspects of participatory praxis, but on the whole, participants have taken a knowledgeable and practical approach to new spaces for participation. The study makes six recommendations: •Brief and consult councillors, community stakeholders, and municipal actors on the findings of the study. (This exercise will serve two purposes, namely, to verify the findings of the study; and to develop a concrete programme for participation in the eThekwini Municipal Area, including a code of best practice). •Develop a capacity building programme on judicial review for the three categories of stakeholders, namely, municipal councillors, municipal officials, and community stakeholders. •Undertake further research on democratic participative forms at the local government level with particular focus on effective praxis through administrative justice. •Initiate developmental programmes and case studies based upon participation praxis to address the most acute problems experienced by select local communities in the eThekwini Municipal Area. •Make input into the review of provincial and local government policy processes initiated by the South African government and co-ordinated by the Department of Provincial and Local Government. • Triangulate and establish the theoretical relationships of participation, democracy and governance. The conclusions of the study reflect positively on the ideational foundations of participation and willingness of stakeholders to adopt new forms of discursive politics. The six recommendations of the work can serve to advance research and policy planning in the local government sphere in South Africa. / Thesis (DPA)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Westville, 2008.