AIM OF COMMUNITY PARTICIPATION

The aim will be to establish:

• what the people in the community want;
• the specific needs of the community;
• their traditions and values; and
• specific problems they experience.

IMPORTANCE OF COMMUNITY PARTICIPATION

Community participation should promote a high level of participation in all areas: analysis, consultation and decision making. Community participation is important because it:

• introduces local grassroots knowledge and understanding of local needs;
• generates ideas;
• broadens debate;
• leads to more satisfaction with outcomes: if people have been involved in the process they are more likely to be satisfied with the result;
• contributes to capacity building and reducing dependency when people have participated in the formulation of decisions; and
• can be used to transfer skills for income generation purposes.

It must be stressed that community participation is not a substitute for planning. The primary role of planning is to mobilise knowledge, skills and understanding of procedures, to place before people a better sense of possibilities and to seek resolutions to, and compromises around, conflicts.

The constitution postulates community participation - the Development Facilitation Act (DFA) principles require active participation by those affected by a development. Community participation cannot only be limited to involving the community in the decision making process, but must also include utilizing community resources as far as possible in carrying out the work. In this way it can be ensured not only that the end product meets the actual needs of the community but also that the community is empowered by the planning process.

FACETS OF COMMUNITY PARTICIPATION

LTS believes that community participation should have the following facets.

• Community inputs into the planning process and community approval of the final product. LTS advocate a needs driven solution as opposed to a purely policy driven solution. This can best be achieved by using the steering committee/representative forum established for a project, to express the wishes of the community in this regard.
• The use of community resources to carry out the work as far as possible. This implies both the development of skills within the community and employment opportunities .
• Community empowerment in regard to both the planning process and land ownership.
• The employment and training of the local community members from within the community. It will be the function of the community facilitation officers firstly to make the project known to the community and then to keep the community informed of developments throughout. The community facilitation officers will also act as a channel for communication between individuals in the community at large (as opposed to the representative forum) and the project team.
• In the verification of ownership, community knowledge will as far as possible be utilized to augment non-official records. This can best be accomplished by the creation of local committees made of long term residents of good standing who can verify information provided by residents concerning the occupancy of properties.
• Property formalisation programs have inevitably been orchestrated by specialists with little, if any, understanding of the importance of communication and education in this regard. The program of Tenure Security will only work effectively if information is provided on the benefits of the tenure reform program. The message to be broadcast throughout the community is that the securing of tenure is a win-win exercise.
• Maintenance is a very important aspect of the tenure security system and any reform program, once established, will not maintain itself without the support of the community. If landholders are not reporting dealings in land, the program will become a mere snapshot of the tenure situation at a point in time, and never reflect the current status. An educational component can therefore not be over-emphasized and it is the educational component that points out that advantages such as a dynamic property market, access to credit, tenure security etc., far outweigh costs such as conveyancing, surveying and taxes.

ACTIVITIES REGARDING ALL ASPECTS OF COMMUNITY PARTICIPATION

Consultation With Interest Groups/stakeholders

• Attendance at meetings
• Lodging of township establishment application

• Establishment of steering committees/representative forum.
• Consultation with community leaders.
• Attendance at meetings.
• Enlisting grassroots co-operation.
• Employing people from the community.
• Investigation and responding to objections.

• Making arrangements for and presentation of educational programs.
• Attendance at meetings.
• Response to problems and queries.
• Obtaining and taking advice on problem issues.
• Training of field agents.
• Liaison and communication with other property professionals.

COMMUNITY MEETINGS

The long term occupants of land should be treated as co-owners of the land. Decisions about land development issues are to be made by the occupants who are affected.

The decisions about projects may only be taken at properly constituted meetings by the majority of occupants present at a meeting convened for considering such matter.

The aim of the community meetings will be to establish:

• what the people in the community want;
• the specific needs of the community;
• their traditions and values; and
• specific problems they experience.

GENDER ISSUES

Historically women have been excluded from issues around land. The Ministry of Land Affairs has committed itself to 'take legislative and administrative measures to give women and men equal rights to economic resources including access to ownership and control over land and other properties, credit facilities, natural resources and appropriate technology'.

From the above statement it will be realised that both men and women are to be catered for in these commitments. It should be noted, however, that women are on the priority list of groups that should benefit from land reform projects as they were excluded before.

Apart from serving as security against poverty and thereby acting as a means to meet basic needs, access to land for women can mean a productive asset which will significantly impact on the women's (and children's) health. Women would also gain independent economic status as infra-structural support could, among others, increase credit worthiness. Tenure security enables women to challenge male oppression within the home and in the wider society.

The empowerment of women can therefore be defined as a process that enhances the ability of the disadvantaged (powerless) individuals or groups to challenge and change (in their favour) existing power relationships that place them in subordinate economic, social and political positions.

LTS is committed to provide mechanisms in project planning and beneficiary selection to ensure that women, as a group as well as individuals, benefit from the programme. LTS is furthermore committed to ensure security of tenure for women.

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