PUBLIC POLICY ADVOCACY IN SOUTH AFRICA

South Africa is a constitutional democracy with a three-tier system of government and an independent judiciary. The national, provincial and local levels of government all have legislative and executive authority in their own spheres, and are defined in the Constitution as "distinctive, interdependent and interrelated". Operating at both national and provincial levels are advisory bodies drawn from South Africa's traditional leaders. It is a stated intention in the Constitution that the country be run on a system of co-operative governance.

Legislative authority is vested in Parliament, which is situated in Cape Town and consists of two houses, the National Assembly and the National Council of Provinces. The National Assembly consists of no fewer than 350 and no more than 400 members elected for a five-year term on the basis of a common voters’ roll. It is presided over by a Speaker, assisted by a Deputy Speaker. The number of National Assembly seats awarded to each political party is in proportion to the outcome of the national election, which is held every five years. Also participating in the legislative process is the National Council of Provinces (NCOP), a body created to achieve co-operative governance and participatory democracy. It is through this body that national and provincial interests are aligned in national legislation that affects the provinces. The NCOP consists of 54 permanent members and 36 special delegates, and elects its own chairperson. Each of South Africa’s nine provinces sends 10 representatives to the NCOP - six permanent members, and four special delegates headed by the provincial premier or a member of the provincial legislature designated by the premier. There is a formula to ensure that each province’s delegation includes representation by minority parties. In addition, local (municipal) government representatives may participate in the NCOP but not vote – 10 part-time members represent different categories of municipalities.

The President, elected by the National Assembly from among its members, is the executive Head of State and leads the Cabinet. The President may not serve more than two five-year terms in office. The Cabinet consists of the President, the Deputy President and 25 Ministers. The President appoints the Deputy President and Ministers, assigns their powers and functions, and may dismiss them. All but two Ministers must be selected from among the members of the National Assembly. The members of Cabinet are accountable individually and collectively to Parliament. Deputy Ministers are also appointed by the President from among the members of the National Assembly.

Legislation may be introduced in the National Assembly only by Cabinet members, Deputy Ministers, or a member of a National Assembly committee. Any Bill may be introduced in the National Assembly. In the NCOP, legislation may be introduced only by a member or committee, and it must fall within certain constitutionally defined areas. Bills passed in the National Assembly must be referred to the NCOP for consideration. The NCOP may pass, propose amendments to or reject a Bill. The National Assembly must reconsider a Bill in cases of amendments or rejections, and pass it again with or without amendments. This process is simple with regard to Bills affecting national functions such as defence, foreign affairs and justice, when each NCOP delegate has one vote. However, when the NCOP considers a Bill that affects the provinces – on functions such as security, welfare, education and health – each province has one vote. This is to ensure that provinces first reach consensus individually on the Bill. Such Bills may be introduced in either the National Assembly or the NCOP. Bills first passed by the NCOP must be referred to the National Assembly, and a mediation committee exists to resolve any disagreements between the two houses. It consists of nine members elected from and by the National Assembly, and nine – one representing each province – from the NCOP. Ultimately, the National Assembly may override the NCOP by a two-thirds majority. Bills amending the Constitution require a two-thirds majority in the National Assembly as well as a supporting vote of six of the nine provinces represented in the NCOP. However, preceding that is the requirement that a Bill amending Section 1 of the Constitution, which sets out the state’s founding values, requires a 75% majority in the National Assembly. (Serious violation of the Constitution is one of the grounds on which the President may be removed from office, also on a two-thirds majority.)

State institutions created to support constitutional democracy are the Public Protector; the Human Rights Commission; the Commission for the Promotion and Protection of the Rights of Cultural, Religious and Linguistic Communities; the Commission for Gender Equality; the Auditor-General and the Electoral Commission.
 

Public Participation

The Constitution of the Republic of South Africa (Act 108 of 1996) specifies that the National Assembly is to serve as a “national forum for public consideration of issues. The Constitution makes provision for public involvement in lawmaking, oversight and other processes of Parliament. One of the ways that the public can make their voices heard is by making submissions to the National Assembly Committees, the National Council of Provinces Committees or Joint Committees.

South Africa's socio-political landscape has undergone a process of fundamental change. The privileges of those that were previously guaranteed access and influence have been diminished; others are rising to positions of influence. Despite considerable political change, however, certain sectors remain strong and others weak. Although South African civil society, with its long history of struggle and advocacy, remains active and involved in issues of change and governance, it has been weakened by a withdrawal of international financial support and a loss of personnel to government and the private sector.

Organised business has had to adapt to a sharply different political system and a new culture of accountability. Typically, it has responded with new lobbying techniques – some effective, some less so. In South Africa, lobbyists tend to be directly employed by organisations that wish to present their case to government.

The aim of public participation in legislative and policy-making activities is to offer poor people the opportunity to make their circumstances known and to express their needs and grievances. There is, in addition, a clear government commitment to public participation by the poorest sectors of society. The transformation of Parliament and the Legislatures has taken place within a framework that seeks to encourage public participation in the making of laws and policies, through public hearings on all Bills and policies. However, mainly those who have access to resources and who are better organized have used these processes. The major constraint is a lack of capacity and resources amongst those whose participation is most desired – the poor and marginalised. Indeed, increased opportunities for public participation generally may even exacerbate existing inequalities. Hence, while public participation is frequently viewed as a form of empowerment, the danger is that only the already empowered may be able to enjoy its benefits.

Clearly then, socio-economic status is a key determinant in the ability to access and participate in the political system. Constitutional and legislative requirements for open and accessible processes are a necessary but insufficient condition for effective public participation in the South African socio-economic context. The right to legal access and participation must be backed up by dedicated strategies and programmes aimed at involving the broadest possible spectrum of society.

Political power in South Africa is concentrated in the Executive rather than the Parliament, and thus the most effective lobbying efforts are those directed primarily at the political executive (president and cabinet ministers) and the bureaucratic executive (managers of government departments ).

Increasing participation by civil society structures in policy development, implementation including monitoring and evaluation of government performance is a reflection that they are increasingly becoming knowledgeable about their rights and can therefore hold government accountable.

Numerous avenues for citizen participation in and access to government services remain open. Key among these include parliamentary and committee hearings, where citizens are engaged in conversations about policy, legislative and oversight measures, offering them an opportunity to voice their concerns and make inputs towards the improvement of their lives. The formal processes for petitioning government and its agencies have become prominent ways in which citizens alert government to their needs and gaps in government service provision.

Government’s outreach programmes are designed to inform and listen to citizens, and they provide a useful platform for letting government know about how citizens experience the impact of its plans and programmes. Often a lot of weaknesses are identified and processes to design corrective actions begin after these engagements. Through these measures, government combines citizen participation, education and feedback on policy issues affecting their lives. Although platforms are created, there are challenges which include, among others:

• Poor turnout during public hearings in certain areas and on certain issues. In some cases, this has to do with the perceived relevance of government services relative to citizens’ needs and the weak role of civil society formations in representing citizen’s interests in these forums;
• Weak publicity and communication about the public- hearings process in general and specific events in particular, which is what both legislatures and civil society need to enhance;
• The relatively poor awareness among citizens of government decision making processes, public resources and abilities as well as the importance of participatory processes, resulting in the domination of processes by the middle-class that is able to organise itself into NGOs, business and other similar interest groups; and
• There are challenges of physical access in some cases owing to travelling distances to the seats of legislature or meeting places, despite the initiatives by legislatures to bring themselves closer to communities by holding sittings in various localities across the country.
• Parliamentary committees should do more to increase the level of expertise at their disposal to enhance the quality and impact of their work and deliberations through drawing on external subject matter experts as trusted, independent and impartial sounding boards and voices of reason, to enrich and inform Committee deliberations. This may prove to be particularly useful in Committees who have legislative and oversight responsibility in highly technical and specialised areas.