Community protests

In a recent study, the Community Law Centre at the University of the Western Cape investigated the phenomenon of protests, often accompanied by violence, remaining the order of the day in politics at the local level in South Africa.

“These protests,” they concluded, “are a medium through which local residents demonstrate their frustration. They ‘invent’ spaces in which they can voice their discontent, despite the fact that they are ‘invited’ to spaces where they can make their views heard. One such ‘invited’ space is the voting booth: next year [2011], voters have an opportunity to hold their municipal councillors to account.”

The Community Law Centre continues: “The question is whether and how voters will use this opportunity to exercise their democratic rights. Our research shows that protests are increasing in frequency and violence. At the same time, it is unlikely that there will be drastic changes to local government politics throughout the country.”

Moreover, “if councillors are held accountable only by protests and not through elections, this suggests that something is wrong with the functioning of our local democracy.” Read more ...

(By their own account the Community Law Centre at the University of the Western Cape offers high quality applied research, policy analysis and consulting services.)