Abstract:
In many developing countries, there is a continued decline in public participation at the local level
which often results in poor service delivery and as a result, a rise in protests. South Africa has experienced a sharp
increase in service delivery protests in the last decade. One of the reasons advanced is that existing constitutional
spaces of democracy do not seem to facilitate effective local participation. Consequently, there is a need to
investigate potential mechanisms to enhance local participation because it is believed to contribute towards
improved service delivery. This study responds to the following question: What challenges inhibit existing spaces
of participation? How can these identified spaces be improved? The study draws data from existing literature and
local government documents on South Africa. It concludes that there is a need to improve existing spaces of local
participation, which would improve service delivery.
