Non-governmental organizations and local governance

Abstract

The basic principles of democratic governance may have been captured in policy documents but do not guarantee the transformation to an equitable and socio-economically viable society in South Africa and other developing countries. Hence NGOs as an entity of civil society have a role to foster democratic governance with its guiding principles in order to build an equitable and just society at local, national and international levels. The purpose of this case study was to explore and provide a common insight about the meaning and nature of democratic governance and the role of NGOs, in this case IDASA and AWARD, in local governance. The main findings of the research were that IDASA and AWARD have played substantial roles in democratizing local governance, providing social services, institutional development and capacity building, policy research and advocacy. Nevertheless, the above thematic issues require further multi-disciplinary research and collective action to promote the role of NGOs in local governance.