Abstract
The purpose of this minor-dissertation is to explore the role of public participation by people with disabilities for improved urban governance within a local government context. The chosen case study is a municipality in the west of Gauteng. It consists of various wards of which some are regarded as “rurals”. The municipality is a good case study because it allows the researcher to interact with people living with disabilities in both urban and rural wards. Traditional public participation mechanisms have been effective; however, their level of inclusiveness is questioned. However, inclusive mechanisms are required to ensure the active participation of people with disabilities.
Collectively this study outlines the role played by local communities, with specific reference to people with disabilities and the significance of adequate urban governance towards sustainable development. Subsequently, public participation related frameworks are used to explain the importance of inclusive public participation and are supplemented by mechanism of public participation that entails the importance of active participation.
The findings were that the apartheid regime has an influence in the deficiencies of public participation that exist today, especially among people with disabilities. Various legislative frameworks exist and are used to guide municipalities in governance related matters including the aspect of public participation and must additionally be utilised to develop inclusive public participation mechanisms. It was further noted that political affiliation influences the level of public participation especially in community meetings that are often preparatory meetings.
The findings further elaborated that the municipality utilised as a case study has an ability to develop adequate policies, however, the implementation process may be a challenge, hence the need to provide employee training for policy making and implementation specifically. Thus, based on the findings, recommendations were made that mechanisms for public participation must be tailored to include those with disabilities and public officials must be equipped with adequate knowledge and be trained to implement policies and legislation guiding public participation at local government level.
Key words: Person with disability, public participation, inclusiveness, Mogale City Local Municipality, urban governance, sustainable development.