Abstract
This research investigates community stakeholder perceptions of the local government
stakeholder engagement practices in the Bekkersdal Township, south of Johannesburg.
Bekkersdal Township has experienced a number of violent service delivery protests in recent
years, and has been labelled, by a specialised local government data and intelligence
organisation called Municipal IQ, a service delivery protest hotspot in the Gauteng Province of
South Africa. It is therefore essential to obtain a better and clearer picture of stakeholders’
perceptions of the local government stakeholder engagement practices because the
community’s perceptions influence behaviour and consequently shape the relationships
between stakeholders and the municipality.
The research used focus groups to establish stakeholders’ perceptions of the local government’s
stakeholder engagement practices. The findings reveal that the overall perception of the
stakeholders of the municipality’s stakeholder engagement practices is not favourable and that
stakeholders feel that they have been left out of and are not involved in local government
activities as a result of the prevailing communication practices of local government.