Assessing and analysing the impact of Covid-19 pandemic on the effectiveness of public participation :a case study of Polokwane Local Municipality

Abstract

The study presents findings that emanated from assessing and analysing the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the effectiveness of public participation using Polokwane Local Municipality as a case study. The study argues for the empowerment of communities with knowledge on the available mechanism to fulfil the dream of a culture of participation. This is to increase prospects of a unified perception towards the value of public participation in improving local governance. Local governance accountability can be gauged by the extent to which they practice public participation in decision-making in addressing the challenges of the day. This is done by putting or encouraging community participation in the processes that would help address the challenges of the day, including the Integrated Development Plan (IDP) processes. The study applied a mixed methods design and a combination of thematic data analysis and Microsoft Excel (spreadsheet) to analyse the data gathered. Structured questionnaires were distributed to respective community members in the selected community: Ga Dikgale. Furthermore, face-to-face interviews were conducted with the Polokwane municipal officials responsible for the IDP, the municipal manager, and the IDP manager. The findings of the study showed that public participation during the COVID-19 pandemic was viewed as one of the ways of enabling interaction between local government and citizens through social media platforms. However, citizens faced challenges in the process of public participation, and that impacted their level of public participation. It should, therefore, be borne in mind that to improve local governance, it is necessary to look at the extent to which communities are engaged in the processes of improving local governance. Participation of communities in the development planning of their communities can thus help improve local governance