Participation challenges of social groups at the Gauteng Provincial Legislature Public Participation Mechanisms

Abstract

Concerns over the ineffectiveness of the Gauteng Provincial Legislature sector parliament citizens participation mechanism has emerged as a major issue impeding the rights of the social groups in Gauteng to influence policy and legislation and the increase in the resentment of window dress participation has been underscored by the youth participants in the 2019 youth sector parliament. The purpose of this study was to explain the factors that influence the non- participation of social groups in Gauteng in the citizen participation mechanisms of the Gauteng Provincial Legislature as well as determine the extent to which sector parliament have responded to the challenges faced by the social groups in Gauteng. One of the main findings of the research shows that the newly established committee led sector parliament resolution tracking to enhance the effectiveness of sectorial parliament has been found to be cosmetic and inefficacious. It was also established that the three main barriers that discourages the participation of sector parliament participants are management and governance, lack of accountability of the citizen participation programme and exclusion and deceptive inclusion.