Browsing by Author "Phala, Seraki Victor"
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- ItemAssessment of public participation process in the comprehensive integrated transport planning process of the City of Johannesburg : 2003-2013(Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University, 2019-12) Phala, Seraki Victor; Van der Berg-Ross, Ashlene; Theron, F. (Francois), 1954-; Stellenbosch University. Faculty of Economic and Management Sciences. School of Public Leadership.ENGLISH SUMMARY : Since the dawn of the democratically elected government in 1994, the South African Government has put public participation at the centre of all the processes involved in government programmes. Sections 152 (1) (a) and (e) of the Constitution of the Republic of South Africa, 1996 (Act No. 108 of 1996), obliges municipalities to consult, involve and engage their communities in the decision-making process on matters that affect them directly, such as transport planning. As a result, there is a need to develop transport planning systems that are in line with the principles of sustainable planning, which, among others, means collaborative planning and stakeholder involvement. Taking this into consideration, the planning process, particularly for the development of the Comprehensive Integrated Transport Plans, should place public participation at the centre of the decision-making process. This research assessed the process of public participation which was adopted by the City of Johannesburg during the development and review of its Comprehensive Integrated Transport Plans between 2003 and 2013. The main focus of the study was to identify the strategies which were used, for example, to inform the stakeholders about the process of the public participation, how the strategies were implemented and to assess the methods used to capture and address the views of the stakeholders. Though there are no comprehensive guidelines for conducting public participation, particularly for Comprehensive Integrated Transport Planning, provisions for public participation made in different pieces of South African legislation were used as reference points to provide a general framework. In order to complete the study, the researcher adopted a qualitative approach. The study area was the City of Johannesburg and the population sample was selected from the transport stakeholders who were drawn from the registers of the public participation sessions which were held during the establishment and review of the 2013 Comprehensive Integrated Transport Planning in the City of Johannesburg. The researcher targeted the participants who were available and willing to participate in the study. The sampling procedure was accidental. Review of records and interviews were the two methods which were used for data collection. Interviews were conducted with officials from the City of Johannesburg, the public sector and private sector stakeholders. The study revealed that the City of Johannesburg conducted public participation during the development and review of the Comprehensive Integrated Transport Planning. Main findings indicated that the City of Johannesburg engaged the communities through meetings as the only strategy implemented for the public participation process. The study recommends alternative strategies and approaches to the City of Johannesburg for the improvement of future implementation of the public participation process. These include the use of information and communication technology (ICT) infrastructure, social media platforms, the development of a citizen “report card” to capture responses and to provide feedback to stakeholders after the participation process is concluded.