Realising South Africa's National Development Plan goals: The need for change to a collaborative democracy to facilitate community participation

A democratic government should adhere to public administration principles, legal instruments, structures and mechanisms. Democratic good governance demands broad-based civil society involvement and citizen participation in government structures. In this regard, an efficient public service plays a key role in realising the developmental potential and the welfare of its people. Since 1994, public service reform in South Africa has developed from a highly centralised to a decentralised government with national, provincial and local tiers. Whilst great strides have been made to develop government frameworks that co-operate on national, provincial and local levels, these elements have fallen short of facilitating integrated participative service delivery. On a practical level, the legislative, institutional and structural adjustments were challenging to implement (Muthien, 2013; Ståhl, Costa-Black & Loisel, 2018). Despite marginal changes in the well-being of disadvantaged people for the past 20 years, most live a life of disempowerment, characterised by poverty and inequality. As stated by the National Planning Commission (NPC), challenges relating to medical care (coupled with a high level of disease), infrastructure, municipal services, education system, low skills levels and a high unemployment rate further exacerbate the situation (NPC, 2011).

In this article, the authors aim to address the implementation of legislative, institutional and structural changes and principles to develop an enabling platform for socio-economic empowerment. First, the article explains democratic governance before it addresses efforts that the South African government has implemented to date in a bid to democratise the public sector. Hereafter, attention is shifted to developing an enabling environment for a collaborative democratic partnership. In summary, this article aims to unravel the most important elements required to create a participative governance model that fuses horizontal intra-relationships between public officials and departments and vertical interactions between public and private networks

A democratic government should adhere to public administration principles, legal instruments, structures and mechanisms (Auriacombe, 2014; Kuhlmann & Wollmann, 2019). Democratic governance must include both horizontal intra-relationships between public officials and departments as well as vertical interactions between public and private networks. Notably, active citizen participation in governance structures is a prerequisite for democratic governance. However, because of a lack of citizen participation, local government is mostly blamed for public governance ills. Rising anger and frustration in communities has escalated into violent protests, where citizens take the need for change into their own hands. This clearly shows that freedom does not end at the ballot box (Esau, 2007; Botes, 2019). Although local government mostly carry the brunt of governmental incompetence, in reality, several factors influence the efficiency of public governance on every level of the South African public sector. Clearly visible problems include poor audit outcomes, lack of management skills, an inability to develop the required indicators to plan integrated service delivery and monitor legal instruments, policy and programmes (Public Service Commission (PSC), 2005). Other problems are more hidden and also important, such as the lack of inter-sectoral collaboration, more specifically, the lack of regulative, normative, ethical and cognitive principles and values of democracy (PSC, 2005).

The fundamental aim for any democratic government is to meet its public service targets in accordance with democratic principles. South Africa's public service delivery principles are built on the ethics contained in Section 195 of the Constitution of the Republic of South Africa, 1996. According to the Constitution, 1996, local government is mandated to –

Provide a democratic and accountable government for local communities by ensuring that services are provided to communities in a sustainable manner;

Democratised service delivery can only take place when these fundamental principles are realised (Constitution of the Republic of South Africa, 1996). By adhering to these principles, the government acknowledges the supremacy of the country's constitution and its aim to democratise both its government system and service delivery arm.

The South African government has devoted considerable time and effort to ensure quality service delivery that adheres to the country's constitutional requirements (Constitution of the Republic of South Africa, 1996). This includes drafting related legislation and policies as well as allocating an increasing amount of resources to local government.

This study used a qualitative research approach because it was considered most suitable, considering it provides the opportunity to gain deeper insights and an understanding of the topic at hand. Document analysis was used to gather information regarding the realisation of South Africa's National Development Plan (NDP) goals and the need for change to a collaborative democracy to facilitate community participation. This method allowed for a critical examination of content collected from trustworthy and reliable documents, in this case, mostly documents compiled and released by government and public management industry experts. As stated by Bowen (2009), using this approach allows for a systematic technique in which various documents are reviewed and evaluated to extract important themes emanating from the research question or problem. Furthermore, Corbin and Strauss (2008) opined that this method can help improve the understanding of the topic at hand. Document analysis is seen as a social research method and the rationale behind it is the triangulation of information. It is unobtrusive in nature and, therefore, eliminates the possible bias from interactions with the sample audience. It also promotes contextual and conceptual investigation (Huysamen, 1994; Webb et al., 1999; Babbie, 2001; Berryman, 2019). Corroborating findings and information from different sources can create a confluence of information, which could strengthen credibility (Bowen, 2009). The results obtained from document analysis allow for the verification with specific reference to the various documents (Swart, Swanepoel & Surujlal, 2014). Using this methodology has several advantages that include cost and time savings compared to other qualitative methods, documents included in analysis is easily available and includes limited to no human interaction and, finally, documents are considered reliable, accessible and non-reactive, which allows for it to be reviewed more than once (Bowen, 2009). Swart et al. (2014) further opined that the results obtained from this form of analysis allow for the verification specifically with reference to the various documents used.

This study made specific use of books, articles, regulatory policy and strategy documents. As recommended by Bowen (2009), these documents were selected because they contributed to the objective of the study; the documents could be deemed credible, authentic, complete and representative and the source of the documents were known. The qualitative description of the findings focused on the themes that emerged from the research and the manner in which they were conceptualised.

As stated, the aim of this article was to identify the most important elements required to create a participative governance model that fuses horizontal intra-relationships between public officials and departments and vertical interactions between public and private networks. The next section provides the results from the in-depth desk top analysis and a discussion on the main themes emanating from the findings.

Whilst the public service serves as the executive arm of government, poor governance has become a major barrier to socio-economic development in Africa, including South Africa (Chirenje, Giliba, & Musamba, 2013; Molefe, Meyer & De Jongh, 2018). Undeniably, this vital sector needs to be strengthened if South Africa wants to operate as a democratic developmental government (PSC, 2017). Within this context, the active participation of citizens reinforces development, democracy and accountability. Furthermore, there needs to be a focus on collaboration between citizens and the state to develop a democratic developmental government (NPC, 2013).

In 2013, the South African government adopted a national vision to eliminate poverty and reduce inequality by 2030 (NPC, 2013). The NDP 2030 was developed by the NPC as a governance framework to ensure that the needed strategic plans, IDPs and annual government performance plans were developed (NPC, 2013). According to White, Heyman, Favis and Hargovan (2000) and Haywood, Funke, Audouin, Musvoto and Nahman, (2019), the NDP 2030 functions as ‘… a “blueprint” for transforming social, economic and political structures in South Africa, in order to address past inequality and create a basis for growth and sustainability in the future’. Furthermore, the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (ENECA) opined that the debate on good governance and network governance has been reintroduced as a potential solution for Africa's developmental challenges (ENECA, 2011). More recently, the focus has shifted to measuring network governance capacity against democratisation and development (Muthien, 2013; Solomon & Liebenberg, 2017). The concepts good governance, networking, democratisation and development have also been introduced to this debate (White et al., 2000; Haywood et al., 2019). Within the South African governance context, this link is best described in the NDP 2030. The aims and principles reflect the meaning of developmental democratisation within the South African context, as well as the core and implementation of the country's legislative and policy instruments. It clearly emphasises the democratic principles of promoting partnerships between the public and private sectors. It is believed that development and equity could be enhanced if the private sector, such as business, labour, non-governmental organisations (NGOs) and community-based organisations (CBOs), and the public sector could work together in a democratic developmental framework (PSC, 2016). The NDP 2030 emphasises the need to maximise human resource development and empowerment to accelerate transformation and service delivery to the benefit of all South Africans (NPC, 2013). This commitment is driven by the South African government's belief that the country, and Africa in general, will not meet developmental challenges (e.g. reducing poverty, inequality and unemployment) without a democratic state that actively involves citizens in governance and economic decision-making (NPC, 2013).

The President's Office (2018) recently recommended the establishment of a delivery unit within the presidency to help improve service delivery and create a participatory developmental democracy model. To reach these goals, the delivery unit prioritised the following areas related to key NDP goals (economic growth, poverty eradication, job creation, reduction of income inequality and service delivery): –

Addressing issues that may undermine the democratic state, such as weak local governance, environmental degradation, crime and corruption;

Undeniably, democratisation and good governance form the cornerstones of development goals. In this regard, White et al. (2000) and Ascher, Brewer, Cheema and Heffron, (2016) argued that linking participatory, accountable and efficient governance to development, good governance and democracy could help both the government and citizens reach sustainable social and economic development objectives. Klijn and Koppenjan (2012) and Classen (2017) stated that inter-sectoral collaboration could enhance and provide guidelines for the integrative procedures and actions of a democratic governance system. Moreover, inter-sectoral collaboration forms the foundation of a viable network. Within this context, a network could be regarded as a relationship between a group of interdependent but operationally independent members who establish a meaningful connection within an institutionalised framework (Sørensen & Torfing, 2007; Sørensen & Torfing, 2016). Competence is based on the knowledge and experience of each interdependent member. The network partners bring strategic resources to the table that establish trust in a mutual relationship and establishing resolutions to shared problems (Marcussen & Torfing, 2007; Torfing & Sørensen, 2014; Oláh et al., 2017; Oláh et al., 2018). Therefore, network governance could be regarded as ‘… realising collective goals by means of collective action’ (Lange, Driessen, Sauer, Bornemann, & Burger, 2013:2; Albareda & Waddock, 2018). Internationally, an increasing number of countries turn to network governance as a viable solution, because it opens up more avenues to solve complicated contemporary problems (Provan & Kenis, 2008; Torfing & Sørensen, 2009; Peters, 2014; Albareda & Waddock, 2018). Fortunately, the South African public sector has come to realise that, within the modern governance structure, no single actor in the public or private sector has the infrastructure, knowledge or resources to solve complex societal problems. In this regard, the NDP 2030 states that ‘A developmental state builds the capabilities of people to improve their own lives, while intervening to correct historical inequalities. Neither government nor the market can develop the necessary capabilities on their own’ (NPC, 2013:17).

The challenge is to develop a network governance model that is responsive to the real needs of citizens, especially the poor. The South African government has committed itself to build a state that could guide encompassing economic and social development by mobilising and directing all available resources towards achieving the NDP goals. This helps ensure that the needs of the poor, as well as social issues, such as healthcare, housing, education and safety, are at the top of the national agenda (NPC, 2013).

The PSC (2014) highlights that democratic government should adhere to public administration principles, legal instruments and mechanisms. In this regard, the network governance model is built on visionary leadership, efficient structures, processes and values (Zurbriggen, 2014). Therefore, one way of achieving efficient and sustainable models for citizen participation is establishing structured and institutionalised frameworks to facilitate participatory governance (DPLG & GTZ, 2005). On the basis of the aforementioned discussion, a model for encouraging a collaborative democracy through the facilitation of community participation to aid in the realisation of South Africa's NDP goals is suggested in Figure 1.

Fig. 1

Participative democracy is needed to empower community members to exercise their right to partake in municipal decisions and to hold public officials accountable (Batory & Svensson, 2019). Whilst there are remarkable examples of transformative public governance reform in South Africa, it is not enough to create an enabling environment for integrative collaboration on all governance levels. Ochrana, Plaček and Půček (2016) referred to the concept of strategic governance that extends from the notion of good governance and has the potential to impact the future of governance in a better manner. In the South African case, the structural elements are already in place to provide avenues for participation and collaboration. However, an environment shaped by empowerment, cooperation, accountability, transparency, trust, responsiveness, inclusiveness, effectiveness and procedures to monitor and evaluate progress is needed to realise a participative democracy in South Africa. Network governance does not only represent the principles of democracy, and solid leadership is also of participation of citizens in the development and governance processes (Edigheji, 2005; Lewis, Ricard & Klijn, 2018; Colebatch, 2017). Experience has shown that citizen and community collaboration in governance enhances effective accountable democratic governance (DPLG & GTZ, 2005). As stated by Edigheji (2005:9), ‘networking with civil society is based on close cooperation, coordination and partnerships. Effective partnerships consist of shared roles, responsibilities and decision-making powers’.

The research highlighted that the network governance model could help South Africa to evolve from an archaic, elitist democracy, where the dependency model was used to seek rational feedback from the government, to a participative democracy model, where communities and government work together. Notably, networking has created avenues to involve both social and political environments. Subsequently, more resources are available for development, information, perceptions and skills to solve problems. Also, network governance has the potential to restore the trust between the government and communities in South Africa.

Democratically, the current South African government system is still shackled to the dependency model of its elitist past. A shift needs to be made from the dependency model to a community participation model, where citizens and local government can work together to bring about change. If this is not done, anger and frustration in communities will escalate. Within this negative context, people will take the need for change into their own hands and possibly the violent protests characterised by the former apartheid days. However, the decentralisation of a government system does not automatically bring about public participation of previously marginalised people (Peters, 1997; Khosha, 2002). Most South Africans not only come from an oppressive background but also from a dependency culture. A mind-shift should, therefore, be made from the dependency model where the government is expected to serve every requirement within communities, to a model where communities are empowered do become involved in their own development (Hanberger, 2006). This clearly shows that democracy is not decided at the ballot box and that it entails a clear focus on creating an enabling environment that stimulates independence.

South Africa can only realise the NDP 2030 goals (to maximise people's development, strengthen governance networks and enhance the state's capacity to provide adequate public services) by drawing on partnerships within a network governance framework. Developing a network governance is not an easy task. The foundations for a capable state have been laid, but there are major concerns about the weaknesses in how these structures function, which concerns the state's ability to pursue key development objectives (NPC, 2011). To reach the NDP 2030 goals, the South African government has committed itself to building a participative democracy that can guide socio-economic development within all tiers of governance by mobilising communities and directing available resources toward achieving NDP goals. This article aimed to unravel the most important elements required to create a participative governance model that fuses horizontal intra-relationships between public officials and departments and vertical interactions between public and private networks using a qualitative methodological approach including a critical desktop document analysis. Although this was achieved, the article is not without its limitations. As this article mainly made use of secondary sources, which in this case was deemed appropriate considering the aim, one limitation could be the lack of quantitative empirical results. Furthermore, the current South African case was not compared to other developing countries. These limitations open the possibility for future research, which could include collecting primary data from government officials, businesses and community members to confirm and rank the most important elements required to create participative governance as identified in this study. Furthermore, country comparisons and case analysis from other developed and developing countries could be beneficial to future policy recommendations and development.