Abstract
This thesis examines the role of public participation, accountability, and AI integration in South Africa’s parliament, focusing on the evolution of the Parliamentary Public Participation Model (PPM) from 2010 to 2022. Despite existing research, gaps remain in understanding the implementation of the 2019 PPM, especially its operationalisation within parliamentary committees' transparency and public engagement. This research fills these gaps by assessing the PPM’s evolution spanning the 4th – 6th post-apartheid administrations, analysing the Home Affairs Committee's hybrid proceedings during the 2022 Electoral Amendment Bill, and exploring how advanced AI technologies can improve institutional accountability and public participation.
The study adopts a multimethod qualitative approach, blending historical analysis, case studies, semi-structured interviews, thematic analysis and a multilayered approach to data presentation. The theoretical frameworks include Sherry Arnstein’s Ladder of Citizen Participation, Andreas Schedler’s Two-Dimensional Accountability framework, and Leonid Hurwicz’s Mechanism Design Theory. These frameworks inform the construction of the “institutionalised onus” framework, which aims to enhance accountability and integrity in parliamentary processes by integrating AI technologies strategically.
Since 1994, South Africa’s Parliament has grappled with transforming from an executive-dominated institution into a fully participatory institution. Democracy demands more than periodic voting; it requires sustained civic engagement. However, deep socio-economic disparities have concentrated political influence within a privileged elite, marginalising the majority and undermining democratic legitimacy. Despite its vision of a “people’s parliament,” Parliament faces persistent criticism for weak executive oversight and limited public engagement. While the Constitutional Court has mandated greater participation, significant gaps remain. Digital platforms such as the People’s Assembly offer potential avenues for enhancing public involvement, yet their effectiveness in Southern Africa remains underexplored, raising critical questions about their optimisation. More broadly, institutional accountability is a longstanding concern in political theory since Plato and Juvenal’s quis custodiet ipsos custodes? —remains central to modern governance.