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#ElectionsCountdown: Community-based governance: Let your vote help your community

28 May 2024 Photo Supplied

Opinion article by Dr Ina Gouws, Senior Lecturer: Programme: Governance and Political Transformation, Department of Political Studies and Governance, University of the Free State.

Community-based governance refers to the systems and processes involved in the interface between community participation, community engagement, and public sector decision-making. This requires a partnership between civil society, business, and government. For this partnership to work, all partners must commit and invest in these processes for the sake of better services to communities. In recent years, communities have had to approach community-based governance with regional and local governments as mostly absent partners.

As South Africa approaches the national and provincial elections this week, voters need to reflect on the indispensable role civil society organisations have assumed in bridging the governance gap left by ineffective local and provincial governments. These organisations, driven by a profound commitment to community welfare, have extended their reach beyond their designated mandates, skillsets, and financial capacities to address pressing community needs. Their tireless efforts have underscored the significance of community-based governance and the urgent need for collaboration between civil society and government institutions.

Embracing community-based governance

In most provinces across South Africa, communities have found themselves grappling with the consequences of governance failures, ranging from inadequate service delivery to systemic corruption. Faced with these challenges, civil society organisations have emerged as beacons of hope, leveraging their grassroots networks and intimate understanding of local dynamics to deliver essential services, advocate for change, and empower communities.

However, the burden should not fall solely on the shoulders of civil society. As the nation prepares for a new phase of post-election governance, incoming national and provincial governments must acknowledge and appreciate the pivotal role played by these organisations. They must recognise the wealth of expertise, connections, and trust that civil society brings to the table. By rebuilding the fractured relationship between government and communities, which is fundamental to effective community-based governance, a collaborative approach is therefore required. Moreover, governments must move beyond mere acknowledgement and actively engage with civil society organisations as equal partners in the pursuit of sustainable development and social justice. This entails fostering open channels of communication, soliciting input from communities and civil society in policy formulation and decision-making processes, and allocating and then PROVIDING resources to support the initiatives and projects driven by these organisations.

By embracing community-based governance and forging genuine partnerships with civil society, provincial governments can tap into a valuable reservoir of knowledge and experience that is essential to addressing the complex challenges facing South African society. Together, they can work towards a future where governance is not just about top-down directives, but is rooted in the principles of inclusivity, responsiveness, and accountability. South Africans are not experiencing such partnerships at all in most provinces. Voters MUST reflect on this before they cast their votes.

Reimagine governance in South Africa

Voters must not forget the impact an ineffective national and provincial government has had on their communities. We must vote with the expectation that our national government's ultimate goal must be to ensure that communities at the grassroots level receive the services and support they need for the people living there to thrive. This includes providing essential utility services such as water, electricity, and sanitation; social services such as health care, education, and welfare; and fostering economic growth through investment towards job creation and infrastructure development.

Provincial governments are supposed to play a crucial intermediary role by bringing national objectives to the regional level, tailoring strategies and policies to the specific needs and circumstances of their areas. They therefore set the tone for local governance, and by extension, community-based governance, by interpreting national policies and ensuring their implementation in a way that addresses local priorities. South Africans have not experienced this level of good governance in recent years; some never have.

So, if this interpretation and implementation does not happen – which is the case in most provinces – the tone set for community-based governance is one of disarray, failure, and suffering. There are of course a few cases that are the exception. South African voters can change this by voting for a national and provincial government that will impact communities in constructive ways and pave the way for the local government elections to follow.

We are on the cusp of a new electoral cycle. As voters, we must seize this opportunity to reimagine governance in South Africa – governance that puts the needs and aspirations of communities at its core, nurtures collaboration between government and civil society, and paves the way for a more equitable and prosperous future for all. With this vision, we can truly realise the promise of democracy and ensure that no community is left behind. These may be national and provincial elections, but you are voting for your community!

News Archive

State of our campuses: UFS closes campuses until Friday 28 October 2016 to readjust academic programme

2016-10-15

UFS announces strategy for completion of the 2016 academic year

Agreement between UFS management and student leadership in relation to residences

After almost four weeks of student protests about fees at the University of the Free State (UFS) and the subsequent suspension of the academic programme and closing of campuses, the senior leadership announced on 14 October 2016 a strategy to ensure that students will be able to complete the 2016 academic year.

The university on 13 October 2016 announced that it will shut down its Bloemfontein and South Campuses until 28 October 2016 for crucial and complex arrangements to be put in place to readjust the academic calendar and ensure that all students can complete their studies. The senior leadership did, however, make it clear that the university will not be shutting down for the remainder of 2016.

No teaching and learning activities at undergraduate and honours level will be offered between 17 October and 28 October 2016. The university will re-start teaching and learning at undergraduate and honours level in the first week of November 2016.

However, teaching and learning will not take place in the classrooms during November 2016, but through a different mode of delivery that consists of a combination of printed and recorded lectures, study materials and learning aids that will be provided by the university and delivered through Blackboard. In this manner no attempts at disrupting the rest of the academic year will affect our students’ academic programme. Students, however, will sit for the exam on campus.

Students in residence accommodation can return to campus as from 29 October 2016 and it is recommended that students who do not have off-campus internet access return to campus in order to access study material to complete the academic year.A new timetable for exams is still being developed and will be communicated as soon as the arrangements have been finalised.

Faculties have been differently affected by the loss of teaching time. Some faculties like the Faculty of Law have completed their curriculum, while other faculties like the Faculty of Natural and Agricultural Sciences require more teaching time. Some faculties, like the Faculty of Health Sciences, cannot do teaching through alternative modes of delivery.

The needs of the different faculties have been taken into account for developing a rescue plan to complete the 2016 academic year.

The Faculty of Health Sciences will continue its classes and clinical rotations as normal for all three schools on the Bloemfontein Campus and in the relevant hospitals. All students registered in programmes in the Faculty of Health Sciences will stay in residences for the full period of their studies and exams. Final-year medical students will graduate in December 2016 as expected.
In the Faculty of Economic and Management Sciences, final-year students for the Certificate in the Theory of Accounting (CTA) will stay on campus during October through to December 2016 and their classes and tests will not change.
Arrangements for all other faculties and programmes are being prepared and within the next week, students and parents/guardians will receive communication about how curriculum content will be completed and when the final exams will take place.
The university is extending the academic year so that we can recuperate all the lost teaching and learning time. The qualifications conferred on the 2016 class will be of the same quality and standards as all UFS qualifications.

The UFS is and will remain a fundamentally contact teaching and learning education university. However, under the current circumstances faced not only by the UFS, but higher-education institutions across the country, the best way of ensuring the integrity of the academic programmes in most faculties is by using an alternative way of teaching and learning. Other South African universities have chosen the same approach to be able to complete the academic year.

Instead of students going to class, they will have content delivered to them where they are (library, computer labs, their own computers, etc.) through Blackboard and printed and electronic material. This is a different way of learning but students will be carefully guided and supported.

Faculties are currently preparing all the necessary materials and instructions to support student learning.Standards and quality will be the same as if students were attending classes. Some faculties require practical laboratory work as part of their curriculum. The exam timetable will be adapted for these students to be able to complete their practical work when the academic activities commences in November 2016. The relevant faculties will communicate the schedule of practical work directly to the students.

Students in their final year will complete their studies during 2016. It is possible that in some cases the graduation ceremony for these students will be in June 2017 instead of April 2017. This will not prejudice students with bursaries, or committed employment in law firms or other businesses. The university will provide the necessary academic transcripts as proof of the completion of the relevant qualifications. None of these changes will affect postgraduate students.

The university will maintain regular communication with students and parents/guardians to update them on the new exams timetable.Faculties will communicate directly with students about issues related to their programmes.

“One of the areas in which significant progress was made, is that we were able to agree on a basis for stability with student leaders. The student protests occurred during an important time in the university’s academic calendar and the readjustment of our academic programme has put tremendous pressure on academic and support services staff, and created anxieties for parents,” said Prof Nicky Morgan, Acting Rector of the UFS.

“The senior leadership restates its commitment to free education as well as its willingness to stand together with students and other public universities to impress on government the urgency to decide on a time frame for the roll-out of free higher education for the poor and missing middle. We will use the next two weeks to meet with the leadership of Universities South Africa to coordinate collective action in this regard. We will furthermore also roll out a series of activities to inform and educate students and the general public on different models and experiences of providing free higher education,” he said.

The strategy to readjust the 2016 academic year is applicable to students on the Bloemfontein and South Campuses.

Released by:
Lacea Loader (Director: Communication and Brand Management)
Telephone: +27 51 401 2584 | +27 83 645 2454
Email: news@ufs.ac.za | loaderl@ufs.ac.za
Fax: +27 51 444 6393

State of our campuses #15: UFS closes campuses until Friday 28 October 2016 to readjust academic programme

State of our campuses #14: All academic activities on UFS campuses remain suspended on 13 and 14 October 2016

State of our campuses #13: Availability of information about plans for remainder of UFS 2016 calendar year

State of our campuses #12: All academic activities at UFS campuses suspended for 11 and 12 October 2016

State of our campuses #11: Academic activities on UFS campuses continue

State of our campuses #10: Impact of non-completion of the 2016 academic year on UFS students

State of our campuses #9: Academic programme on all UFS campuses to resume on Monday 10 October 2016

State of our campuses #8: UFS extends vacation as from 28 September until 7 October 2016, 28 September 2016

State of our campuses #7: All three UFS campuses will be closed today, 27 September 2016.

State of our campuses #6: All UFS campuses reopen on Tuesday 27 September 2016

State of our campuses #5: UFS campuses to remain closed on Monday 26 September 2016

State of our campuses #4: Decisions about the UFS academic calendar

State of our campuses #3: UFS campuses closed until Friday 23 September 2016

State of our campuses #2: UFS Bloemfontein and South Campuses closed on Tuesday 20 September 2016 (19 September 2016)

State of our campuses #1: Academic activities suspended on UFS Bloemfontein Campus (19 September 2016)

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