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Chapter 3 - DEMOCRACY, GOVERNMENT & PUBLIC PARTICIPATION

PUBLIC PARTICIPATION

Public participation means that citizens should be able to interact with government on decisions that affect them. In a democracy, citizens vote for political leaders and representatives of their choice.

Democracy should not end with elections, Government makes thousands of decisions that need input from the people. For example many organisations and individuals make representations to Parliament in public hearimgs when new laws are discussed. At a local level municipalities should consult people on housing developments and the use of public land.

Citizens have a right (and a duty) to have a say in the way in which the government should work. Citizens also pay taxes and have a right to know how this money is being spent. If people don't participate, the government may make decisions without hearing the opinions of the people and as a result will not be transparent and accountable for their actions. This can lead to the abuse of powers. The Constitution says all spheres of government (national, provincial and local) have to make it easy for people to participate in government. Section 118 (1)(a)(b)(i) and (ii) of the Constitution deals  with public access to, and involvement in provincial legislatures, and Chapter 4 of the Local Government Municipal Systems Act is dedicated to community participation.

So, from the above we can see that public participation is an important part of democracy, and in particular for South Africa, because it makes the government -

• open and accountable for its actions
• act on its promises (usually made in elections) such as political party manifestos, policy speeches of Ministries of government departments, the Annual State of the Nation Address (by the President).

If you want to participate effectively you need to be properly informed which means:

• knowing what is happening in your community and what the important issues are
• knowing what is happening in your broader society
• knowing what your legal rights are and where decisions will be made

How can you participate and influence decision making?

Here is a list of ways that you can participate and  influence decision making:  

• Vote in elections
• Participate in party politics
• Organise, support and hold public demonstrations and campaigns
• Petition local, provincial and national leaders
• Lobby decision-makers (e.g. a municipal Councillor, Mayor, Speaker, Member of Parliament or senior government official e.g. municipal manager, and participate in decision-making processes, such as public hearings or public consultation meetings.
• Make written or verbal submissions to committees
• Print and distribute leaflets
• Use local radio and TV stations, or social media networks e.g. Facebook and Twitter,  ask to speak on television or radio
• Refer complaints to appropriate institutions like the  South African Human Rights Commission (SAHRC), Commission on Gender Equity, the Public Protector, and the Independent Directorate of Complaints (ICD) for police issues.
• Engage ward committees, intergovernment fora, Budget, IDP and local consultative fora at a local government level, in order to hold local councillors accountable and encourage public participation in policy formulation and implementation.
• People can also lobby constituency representatives of statutory institutions, such as the National Economic Development and Labour Council (NEDLAC), South African National Aids Council (SANAC) and other structures requiring public participation.

Voting in elections

The Constitution gives everyone who is 18 years or older the right to vote – in secret - in elections. The Electoral Amendment Act (No 34 of 2003) says a person who is a South African citizen, has a green, bar-coded ID book, and is 16 years old can apply to register as a voter, but if the application is successful, their name can only be placed on the voter’s role once he or she reaches the age of 18 years.

National and Provincial Elections were held in 1994, 1999, 2004 and 2009.  Since 1994 Local Government elections were held in 1995,  2000, 2006 and 2011.

National and Provincial Elections

South Africa's national and provincial elections take place every five years.

Voters vote for a political party, not individuals. The political party then gets a share of seats in Parliament in direct proportion to the number of votes it got in the election. Each party then decides on members to fill the seats it has won. This is called a proportional representation (PR) voting system.

Democratic national and provincial elections have taken place every five years starting in 1994.

Voters are registered to a voting district (VD) and appear on the voters roll only at the voting station in that VD. Special votes are allowed before elections for people who are travelling outside the countryon election day or those who are disabled, infirm, elderly, or heavily pregnant. Prisoners are allowed to vote in national and provincial elections.

Municipal Elections

Municipal elections take place every five years. A mixed or hybrid system, making use of both the ward system (a constituency system)  and the proportional representation (PR) system, is used for municipal elections. The first democratic municipal elections took place in 1995/6, and the first municipal elections run by the IEC took place in 2000.

There are 3 types of Municipal Councils in South Africa:

• Category A: Metropolitan Councils;
• Category B: Local Councils (LC); and
• Category C: District Councils (DC) (have executive and legislative powers in areas that include local municipalities)

For metropolitan municipalities, there are 2 types of elections and ballots :

• Metropolitan council ward, and
• Metropolitan proportional representation.

In all local municipalities other than metropolitan municipalities, there are 3 types of elections and ballots:

• Local council ward;
• Local council proportional representation; and
• District council proportional representation.

Municipal By-Elections

By-elections take place within 90 days after a municipal ward council seat becomes vacant due to death, expulsion or resignation of a ward councillor.

Special votes: Municipal elections

A special vote allows a registered voter, who can't vote at their voting station on election day, to apply to vote on special vote day before election day.

Lobbying (campaigning, petitioning)

Lobbying means  trying to influence or persuade individuals or groups with decision-making powers, such as people who make policy or laws, to support a position you believe is right or to take certain action. Organisations and individuals can lobby to directly influence decisions being made in all spheres of government.

Who can you lobby?

In the work you and your organisation does it is important to identify people whose co-operation or influence you need to help you with your work. These are usually decision-makers or key role-players. So, you lobby people who have the power to take action to support the needs and interests of those who do not have direct power and influence.  Lobbying can be used to influence anyone with power, for example:

• Parents can lobby the school governing body to provide after care at school
• Civics can lobby the police commissioner to have more police on duty at night
• HIV and AIDS activists and support organisations can lobby the President to provide affordable treatment for people who are HIV positive
• Civics can lobby local councillors to pass a by-law that says everyone should be given access to electricity
• Organisations can lobby members of parliamentary standing committees, cabinet ministers and heads of government departments to influence them in policy and law-making

The two main categories of decision-makers and role-players that you can target are people who support your cause and people who oppose you.

Timing of lobbying (campaigs and  petitions)

Make sure you understand where, when  and how a decision will be made. Find out what rights you have in terms of public participation. Building good relationships with decision-makers and key role-players

One of the most important parts of  lobbying is building relationships with people that you are planning to engage, in other words, decision-makers and key role-players. (See Petitioning and lobbying for examples of these). The stronger the ties of trust, mutual support and credibility between you and the person you are lobbying, the more effective your action will be.

These are some guidelines to building good relationships with key role-players -

• Provide useful, accurate, context specific and truthful information
• it is important for you and your organisation/network to understand and identify issues of protocol and to  raise issues with the appropriate office first. For example, if there is a problem  at a clinic, first raise this with the head of the clinic, then the area manager, then the provincial or district authority and finally with the MEC for Health, rather than the other way around. When making a submission to the municipal council, provincial legislature or Parliament – it is protocol to take the issue to the relevant decision making body to consider, rather than going to the media first.  
• It is important to identify the group/constituency you represent and. to have affected persons, community representatives participate where possible in the submission/presentation..
• Recognise what the person you are lobbyinghas done to benefit the community. so start with a positive and encouraging comment.,
  • Offer to help with issues that they care about (so long as it doesn't conflict with your own interests), for example, helping to spread information.
  • Establish ways to work together in the future. Promote win-win solutions where the people you represent as well as the decision-makers gain something posiutive.
• Keep in regular contacts and don't be impatient if nothing happens immediately.
• Follow up in writing with those you made a petition/submission to,  thank them for their consideration, repeat what you have requested/called for and ask, if needed, when you can meet again.
• Keep the community or interest groups informed of latest developments.
• Ensure that they own the lobbying strategy and can be sustain it
• Keep the media informed about any changes or developments that may affect the issue

Types of lobbying

There are many different ways of lobbying, campaigning and petitioning. It is important that the different lobbying activities around an issue are co-ordinated to make sure they have the greatest impact. It is important that strategic thinking precedes your action. 
These strategies can broadly be categorised into 2 groups:

• Inside lobbying
• Outside lobbying

Inside lobbying

Inside lobbying includes a mix of the following:

• Holding meetings with decision-makers, such as local council representatives and members of parliament for your area
• Providing information to role-players, committees and government officials
• Making submissions to committee meetings/public hearings
• Attending hearings where policy is discussed
• Negotiating with decision-makers and other lobby groups
• Writing formal letters stating your position
• Submitting petitions to relevant committees
• Having discussions with people in informal situations, for example, before or after meetings, during social occasions

Outside lobbying,

If  inside lobbying is not effective, you should mobilise more support for your issue through outside lobbying  for example:

• Speaking to the media, holding news conferences, visiting news editors, helping reporters with stories
• Building alliances with other organisations
• Public letter-writing campaigns
• Public campaigns such as rallies and demonstrations

Methods of lobbying

The following is a summary of methods you can use for lobbying:

Social media

Meetings

Ask if you can have a face-to-face meeting to present your case. Visit the person in their office or invite them to attend a meeting in the community. Always state clearly why the meeting is important and give them an agenda and a list of possible outcomes from the meeting.   Remember, to say what is in it for the decision-maker, for example, "This meeting will provide you with the opportunity to make direct contact with more than 100 people from the community and to hear their concerns on the issue”

Write letters,

Letters, emails and sms messages are the easiest method to use to lobby but they are not always the most effective. Many people in positions of power have administrative staff who read their mail and sms messages and summarise it for them.  It is always advisable to call a meeting with decision makers, after writing these letters.

 It is important that the different activities around an issue are co-ordinated to make sure they have the greatest impact. So, for example, civil society organisations worked together on the Right to Know Campaign in 2011  to raise concerns about he Protection of Information Bill.. Simultaneous inside – and outside lobbying, campaigning and petititioning, delayed the passing of this Bill and helped to address strong concerns from various civil society organisations and the media.

Ask for an on-site inspection or surprise visit

Invite decision-makers to come and make on-site inspections if appropriate. For example, get the person to come and look at the condition of a school.  Committees of Parliament have scheduled site visits  that can be used to arrange engagements with affected communities or organisations.

Elected officials and municipal officials are the closest to people. Visits and meetings can be arranged more easily with this sphere of government. For example, to invite an official or councillor to explain the budget to a ward committee or organised group in your area.

Informal talks

Talk informally to committee members and decision-makers during tea breaks, etc. Introduce yourself and share your opinions.

Private meetings

Organise meetings with national and provincial ministers, or mayors and their advisors, and local councillors to explain your position.

Public meetings

Attend and observe parliamentary committee debates / local council meetings

Petitions

Petitions can be used to show how much popular support your issue has. You can use a petition to get as many signatures as possible from people in the community or you can get a smaller number of key individuals or organisations to sign a petition in support of your submission.

Public hearings

When a bill is tabled in parliament, public hearings are often held where the public can make their submissions to the parliamentary committee dealing with the issue. This is a key moment to get the policy or law changed.

Telephone calls , Facebook, Twitter, SMSing + other social media networks

Get as many people as possible to telephone the decision-maker. Also use sms, faxes and e-mail, Facebook and Twitter  if possible. Try and get influential and well-known people to telephone. If you cannot speak to the decision-maker, leave a clear message, for example, We are phoning to object to the council closing the local health clinics.

Use the media

Use radio, newspapers and TV to tell your story. Publicity is a very powerful way of persuading someone to take certain action. It always helps to make individual contact with a reporter who is prepared to follow the issue through.

Make submissions

If formal submissions to committees are unsuccessful, you can also make the submission via an influential member, such as a parliamentary member or a member of a local council committee. You can make a submission to draw attention to an issue or to try and influence the policy and law-making process.

Use the legal system

Take a case to court or to one of the human rights commissions set up under the Constitution to investigate claims of human rights abuses. This is usually the last resort, when all avenues of lobbying have failed , and where there has been a failure to address an issue for a long period, or where drastic intervention is needed. This is called public interest litigation.

Guidelines to effective  lobbying

These are some practical tips on how to lobby decision-makers and/or key role-players -

Engage and intervene early

It is usually better to intervene as early as possible in the process of developing policy and laws. By the time an issue is being debated in parliament, within a municipal Council or being finalised in a government department, it is hard to get it changed significantly.

For this reason, it is important for your organisation to regularly check invitations to public hearings in newspapers, and in the media. There are dedicated websites and organisations that alerts one to these developments. Examples include the Parliamentary Monitoring Group (PMG).  At a local level, it is importantto check local papers as regularly as possible.

Research or Data Collection

When government publishes a draft strategy, policy paper, draft regulations or any form of discussion document, you should research the issue properly to be clear about it and where necessary collect evidence. 

Identify decision-makers

Analyse who has the power to make decisions on your issue and target your strategies in a very focussed way at specific decision-makers... Remember not everyone will agree with your position. Think how the role-player can benefit from agreeing with you and include this in your arguments.

Realise that your target audience may respond in three ways:

• people who support your position
• people who neither support your position nor oppose it and who can therefore be persuaded to support you (those who “sit on the fence”, or  are undecided)
• people who are against you

In order for your cause/issue to be heard, every effort needs to be made to ensure that decision-makers thoroughly discuss your concerns and do not simply see you as an opponent.

It is important that those who support your cause all agree on the same way forward so that you do not cause confusion among decion-makers. This  requires time, patience and lots of communication.

Be clear about your agenda and goals

Only use advocacy and lobbying that will address issues that have jointly been identified as core matters to improve the quality of life of the community, or interests of the group. Ensure that your arguments are tight and clear, and where possible, provide evidence to support your case.

Be clear about your issue and plan your own alternative, or compromise position. Make sure you have thought through all the options. Know what it is that you want. For example, do you want a parliamentary committee to investigate why a government department has not done a certain job, are you asking for a law to be amended, or  a by-law or regulation to be scrapped?

This will form the basis of your submission to government, your media campaign, your representations to individual ministers or government officials and your networking with other organisations. It is important to -

• Know your issue (don't confuse by raising too many issues)
• Know your position
• Decide what you want to get out of the visit for example, a commitment to vote for your issue, to provide information only
• Keep it simple
• Make recommendations to solve the situation, rather than only describe the challenge or problem at length
• If it is a group visit, decide who will start the discussion and put your agenda on the table.
• Seek endorsements from networks or organisations that support your position and or submission, bring people from the affected community to also speak.
• Only after engaging with the decision-makers, share the entire submission with the media

Propose  solutions

Propose to  committee members or government officials a solution that can work. Avoid threats or aggressive language

Prepare for resistance and opposition

Analyse the opposition's position (to your issue) and develop counterarguments.Often arguments of affordability and resources are used to counter your submission. Make sure that you have sufficient evidence to motivate why additional resources are required to meet your request/demands.

If additional resources are required, or amendments to existing legislation are proposed, try to get professional advice on legal and cost issues.

Listen well

 
When making your submission

• Look for opportunities to provide good information
• Ask questions to get a better understanding
• Know your issue but don't feel you have to have all the answers. Admit when you do not know something.
• Share opinions and concerns of other people in your community
• Find out how much time you have been allocated for your submission or presentation – and aim to complete it in a shorter time. Often programmes run late, or sudden changes are introduced.
• Take enough copies of your presentation for everyone present.
• Establish who will be presenting to the Committee/decision-makers before or after you, if your submission is part of public hearings..
• Make sure beforehand that the time, venue and date have not changed
• Always assess afterwards what worked well, what may require more work and what your future strategies are.

Never use blackmail or bribery

Using blackmail, gifts or bribery to persuade someone to take certain action is corruption and unethical behaviour, not lobbying.

Don't be aggressive

• Don't be argumentative or confrontational.
• Don't get involved in mud-slinging
• Be open to counter-arguments, but don't get stuck on them
• Attack with facts, not rhetoric
• Avoid personal attacks
• Treat everyone with respect

Build, don’t damage working relationships

• If the person has supported you in the past then acknowledge them and your appreciation of their support.
• If they haven't supported you in the past, they may well do so in the future so don't turn them into a permanent enemy. Your response mayt stop them becoming active opponents.

Get commitment and support

• Try and get a commitment from the person, for example, a written declaration or a public statement,if it is within her/his powers to do so.
• If you are unable to  get a commitment and the conversation isn't going anywhere, thank the person and say that you  would like to continue the discussion at another time.

Follow up

After the meeting, if appropriate, send a thank-you note. to all in attendance, or to the Chairperson of the Committee.  If commitments were made in the meeting, repeat your understanding of them. If staff members were present, thank and write to the administration too.

Lobby all target groups/relevant authorities

Don't only lobby one department or entity on an issue. Identify the target role-players supporters, allies, opponents and include all of them. For example, an environmental health matter may require engagement with the provincial department of health, the municipal environment health department and the agency responsible for refuse collection, as a start.. You should also lobby all political groups, not just the majority party

Consolidate and build your lobby group

Analyse which individuals and organisations can influence the decision-makers and/or role-players and try to mobilise them to support your issue. Never lobby alone. People with political power are usually more sensitive to lobbying action which represents their voters..

Brief all role-players

Keep other stakeholders informed about what is happening and the outcome of any lobbying action. Use meetings, regular emails, newsletter, sms’s, phonecalls and other social media networks.