Public participation in decision-making is democracy at work, says President Ramaphosa
President Cyril Ramaphosa says that the government is committed to engaging communities on developments that impact their lives, even if some say that this, in fact, holds back development.
Reflecting on the “taking Parliament to the people” programme in his weekly newsletter, Ramaphosa said that South Africans should be proud that every citizen has a voice.
Last week, the National Council of Provinces (NCOP) held public hearings in the Ugu district of KwaZulu-Natal, to gauge communities’ views on issues affecting them.
President Ramaphosa said that public participation in decision-making was democracy at work.
He said that it helped the state make better decisions, and it built trust between the government, communities, and stakeholders.
Ramaphosa said that it also empowered citizens with the knowledge that their voices were being heard.
He said that citizens should be proud that they had the means to hold decision-makers, lawmakers, businesses, and even the president, to account.
Ramaphosa said that his government was trying to move away from “parachuted” development which was planned in offices, thousands of kilometres away from communities, and then foisted upon them.
He said that he did not share the view that public participation processes were cumbersome, protracted, and therefore stifled development.
Rather, Ramaphosa said that they were an important tool of accountability to fix the challenges of communities in need.
-EWN
In other news – Things you didn’t know about Amapiano pioneer, DJ Sumbody
Condolences have been pouring in since the sad news of the untimely passing of Amapiano pioneer and businessman DJ Sumbody.
According to a statement from his management, Sumsounds Music, the Ayepyep musician — whose real name is Oupa John Sefoka — died in the early hours of Sunday morning, 20 November. Although his management has refrained from revealing his cause of death due to an ongoing police investigation, Learn More
