Tema, Mokgatla Bernice2024-10-022024-10-022021Tema, Mokgatla Bernice. (2021). Community participation in rural development at Ga-Maja in the Limpopo Province [Master’s dissertation, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg]. WirteDSpace.https://hdl.handle.net/10539/41276A research report submitted to the Faculty of Commerce, Law and Management, University of the Witwatersrand, in 50% fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Management (in the field of Public Policy), Johannesburg 2021Public participation in development, in South Africa, is embraced in the country’s Constitution and various legislative and policy frameworks. Despite this, participation is not adequately institutionalised in government, including in local government. The purpose of this study is to explore how community members perceive community participation in decision-making about and implementation of rural development programmes. The research is a qualitative case study with focus on the village of Ga-Maja in the Limpopo province. The research has, among others, found that the community is not fully engaged in its development. It has also established that conflict between the ward councillors and the traditional leadership is a hindrance to community participation in development. This conflict is largely caused by the vague description of the role of traditional leadership in government’s policy documents. Accordingly, government should empower the traditional leadership to play a definitive role in the development of rural communitiesen© 2021 University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg. All rights reserved. The copyright in this work vests in the University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg. No part of this work may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, without the prior written permission of University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg.Community participationDevelopmentInclusionRepresentation empowermentConflictUCTDSDG-11: Sustainable cities and communitiesDissertationUniversity of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg