Public Participation Framework: Paltry numbers do not make for adequate public hearing

Ismail Obaray, MPL
DA Northern Cape: Spokesperson of the NCPL
082 380 2128

Independent Democrats MPL, and deputy chair of the Democratic Alliance (DA), Mr. I. Obaray, will be writing to the Speaker of the Northern Cape Provincial Legislature, Mr. Jacobus van Wyk, requesting that he reconvene in each Northern Cape district the public hearing on the Public Participation Framework.

It is unacceptable that one meeting held on the 12 November, with an attendance of just over 100 people, could be viewed as a successful public hearing by the Northern Cape Provincial Legislature.

Obaray is of the firm view that the public hearing on the Public Participation Framework, recently held at the Mieta Sepepere Convention Centre, failed to adequately represent and give Northern Cape residents a chance to have their say. Low attendance by the public can also be attributed to the poor planning that went into advertising the Public Hearing, with some residents from as far away as the Pixley Ka Seme district citing receiving invites only two days prior to the event.

It is dubious for the Provincial Legislature to believe it adequately garnered the views of Northern Cape residents from one meeting in which the 5 districts are represented by just over 100 people.

The Public Participation Framework meeting was meant to give residents an opportunity to not only critique the manner in which the Provincial Legislature carries out its Constitutional duty to ensure public involvement, but also make suggestions to how it can engage with the public better. Thus the purpose of the meeting was to develop a Public Participation Model for Parliament and the Legislature.

It is inconceivable to believe that this could have been achieved in one poorly attended meeting, Obaray is calling on the Northern Cape Provincial Legislature to reconvene and take the public hearings to all districts in the Northern Cape, this is the only way in which open opportunity to engage the Provincial Legislature can be extended to all.