Page 64 - Research Report 2025.1

3. What is the level of participation of rural communities in decision-making processes related to livelihood support?
Theme 1:
Community Participation in Decision-Making
This theme focuses on the involvement of rural communities in the decision-making processes that affect their livelihoods and development.
Limited Community Participation
Despite the availability of participation platforms, such as community meetings and consultation programs, engagement levels are often low and unevenly distributed across communities. Participant 1 noted that many residents do not fully participate in government matters, often citing low attendance rates at community meetings despite widespread dissemination of information. Similarly, Participant 5 observed that some individuals attend meetings just to sign attendance registers, indicating that they may not fully understand the purpose or importance of their participation in policy planning and implementation processes.
Participant 1
I personally feel that, it can be better. If I’m not sure whether it’s, the lack of, civic education from our community structure side
or the local municipalities or the government in general. But I feel like people are not really involved in government matters, not necessarily for local municipality, in government matters in general as they should be. I feel like, even if they see your posters and things like that, but they don’t the attendance, it does not, merely reflect, or maybe it’s the strategies that the municipalities are using to communicate, I don’t know. But there are gaps there in decision making. I cannot really say, the community. But there are laws that force, there are laws that we’re supposed to follow, to ensure that public participation or consultation or the decision making is done together with the communities. But you’ll find but maybe there’s just 20 members of that particular community, which is supposed to have, like, 3,000. So I feel like we could do better there.
Participant 5
They do take part in in in the form of, of the IDP representing forums and also through the community-based training that takes place when we are in the process of developing of developing our IDPs. But what I cannot really assure you of is the level of participation. And, you know, as I have mentioned, sometimes they do come there as if they think they are just there to sign attendance registers, not understanding that they should be looking into those documents and to into those policies.
Participation through Ward Committees and Community-Based Structures
Rural communities engage in decision-making primarily through Participant 3
ward committees and community-based planning structures.
These mechanisms aim to bring public participation closer to
residents, ensuring that community concerns are addressed
through localised structures. Participant 3 emphasised the
value of holding ward-level engagements, explaining that these rare for speaker to engage like. We bring these engagements to programs bring the decision-making process to where people where people stay, even cluster wards where necessary.”
live, making it more accessible.
Participant 7 highlighted that the municipality operates through an executive ward participatory system with 320 ward committees, providing a structured conduit for information between the municipality and community members. Participant 4 further noted that community-based planning (CBP) and Integrated Development Plans (IDPs) are central to community participation, ensuring that local development is informed by the input of rural residents.
Community Participation through Formal Structures
The participants highlighted the importance of formal
structures that facilitate community participation in local
governance. These structures, such as the office of the speaker,
play a pivotal role in ensuring that public voices are heard and
integrated into decision-making processes. The speaker’s office
is responsible for maintaining the link between the municipality
and the community, ensuring that public participation programs are in place to allow residents to influence key decisions. Participant 2 emphasised the role of formal offices like the speaker’s office in public participation, explaining how these offices act as a consultative bridge between institutions and the public. Participant 6 echoed this sentiment, noting that the speaker manages a variety of public participation programs aimed at maintaining this connection.
“The engagements we take them to the ward level, So I want to believe that participation is because the same people during public participations. These programmes are brought by speaker and people respect programmes by the speaker because it is
Participant 7
“The municipality is having a belief in any community-based planning. Through ward committees. As a municipality, we’re operating in an executive ward participatory system. As such, the municipality has 320 committees which are 10 per ward. As we are having 32 wards. In total, which are part of community- based planning and development. It is also channelled. The development is channelled through these committees, vice versa. The issues on the ground, they also bring the conduit
of information between the municipality and the community members working with ward councillors.”
Participant 4
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“I would say it’s very high because community based planning and IDPs, that’s where everything is discussed. That is if you don’t have those levels of planning, then communication and everything will be very minimal, and you won’t even be able to control it. But if you have an IDP, you have a CBP. Then you are done.”