Lesson 1: Investigate the principles, processes and procedures for democratic

participation
The good news is that as a South African in a democracy, you have a say on the problems in
your community and can report them and expect that the issue is addressed. Sometimes,
people have complained, and nothing has changed, even then there are processes you could
follow to report these issues.
Being part of South Africa, means that we are all required to follow the constitution. These
rules are there to protect us but also to show us that not only do we have rights, but we also
have a responsibility to the people around us.

Public participation involves people in thinking, planning, and playing an active role in
developing services that change lives. People could participate as individuals or as groups or
communities. People have a right to be informed about matters that affect their lives.

An example of public participation would be:

 Visit or host a community meeting
 Join a civil / political organization e.g., Join a political party
 Protest or write a petition
 Pay your taxes

Why is it important to get involved?

 You can make sure that those in power address the public’s needs.
 You could inform government about what citizens are doing.

The South African constitution states that the country must run a system of co-operative
governance. Governance means the way in which a country is managed by the people who run it. This
means that government has many different levels that must work together. As a citizen you are allowed
to have a say in service delivery and policies.

How would you describe good governance of a country?

 It should allow people to participate and keeps them informed

 Delivers basic human rights such as: the right to health, right to education, right to
adequate housing etc.
 Takes responsibility for its actions and decisions made
 Addresses issues in a reasonable time frame
 Aims to protect the environment
 Equity and inclusivity of all people

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Good governance could be described as a principle of democracy in South Africa.

All laws in South Africa are passed and approved through democracy. This means that before an act /
law is passed in parliament, it is published in its draft form (called a white paper). Which must be
opened for public comment before the law is passed. These laws are passed by different levels of
government. Being part of a constitutional democracy means that there are rules that govern our
county that everyone needs to follow, even the president.
The “rule of law” is the law that governs a land. This law protects human rights, keeps us safe, solves
disputes and helps us live our everyday lives. These laws / rights are not only there to protect us but
there is a balance between responsibility and rights.
• We need a government that follows the principles of democracy. The principles could be
summarized as:
 Transparency
 Human rights
 Accountability- which means they should be responsible for their actions and decisions.
 Good governance- we have already discussed.
 Separation of powers

Important terminology:
 Rule of Law- the law that governs a land. This law protects human rights, keeps us safe,
solves disputes and helps us live our everyday lives. These laws / rights are not only there
to protect us but there is a balance between responsibility and rights.
 Democracy- Being part of a constitutional democracy, means that there are rules that
govern our county that everyone needs to follow, even the president.
 Governance- means the way in which a country is managed by the people who run it.
This means that government has many different levels that must work together.
 Transparency- this means that government must be open to the public and not try to hide
actions from the public. It is government's obligation to openly share matters of public
interest.
 Public participation- involves people in thinking, planning and playing an active role in
developing services that change lives. People could participate as individuals or as groups
or communities. People have a right to be informed about matters that affect their lives.

Lesson 2: Research democratic structures

The government serves the people through various structures, from a national structure to local
communities. In South Africa these democratic structures include political, community-based
structures, and faith-based organizations. All these structures would promote citizen participation and
improving the lives of its citizens.

The political structures make the decisions around how our country is run and make the day-to-day
decision on how the country will be run. As we mentioned in the last lesson, these political structures
are appointed through a series of elections.
The second structure is what we refer to as a community structure. These structures are community
driven and NOT political appointments. These groups deal with local issues raised in a community.
Both the community and political structures promote social and political change, on a wide or local level
and focus is on improving the lives of citizens and to promote citizen participation.

National Government is made up of parliament. This includes the cabinet- president, deputy and
various ministers. Together they govern South Africa by making the laws and policies for the whole
country.

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How can you get involved and make a difference?
 A petition would be a way you could participate in this process. As well as voting or standing for
an election.
 You could hold a community meeting and raise an issue of concern to rally support and petition
government on this issue.
 An example of an issue that you could address with national government on behalf of your
community could be:
Lack of non-fee-paying schools that have access to mental health support.
Too many learners are leaving school and mention episodes of anxiety in high school because of
lack of support.

Provincial Government is led by a Premier who was elected by the ruling political party in that
province. The Premier and the Members of Executive Council (MEC’s) deal with laws and policies
that directly impact that province only.
Eg. Lack of schools in your area for all the learners who want to go to high school. Too many learners
are not in school. You could address issues in the same way as you would national. This includes
petitions, voting, or standing for an election.

Local Government is led by the local municipalities who have authority only in their districts. They
have a responsibility to their local community to ensure sustainable services like water and electricity
are delivered. Its these communities where you would most likely be able to get involved. This includes
joining community meetings, be informed on local community events and changes. Volunteer at a
service delivery organization like Neighborhood watch.

Let’s look at the Local Community and faith-based organizations. These are organized by ordinary
citizens, not politicians.

• The mains two groups include:

• Civil Society: This is made up of organizations like various interests’ groups e.g., Sports club,
NGO’s and Faith based organizations like your local church. These groups will represent a
common interest and advocate and support you. Your participation could include- getting involved
in the local youth group in your church, participate in the neighborhood watch, join a running club
and volunteering to promote sport for young children.
• RCL: This is the Representative Council of Learners in your school. There should be
representatives from each grade in this group. They are responsible for building unity amongst
the learners in a school and addressing the needs of the learners on their behalf. They also
represent the learners and develop good relationships between the teacher and SGB (School
Governing Body that is made up of parents.) You could participate by standing for election and
hold meetings for the RCL. You could also participate in their campaigns to educate or mobilize
the school on a particular issue.

Lesson 3: Principles and structures of civil society

A constitution usually includes:
• Firstly, it states the purpose of the organization
• The aims and objectives- what the organization intends to achieve
• The type of organization for example NPO- (Non-profit organization like Child Welfare)
• Membership- indicate the details of who can join and what the duties of the different members
are.
• Explain the structures and procedures eg. How to run meetings, elections etc.
• What the roles and responsibilities of the people holding the specific positions would be.

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Being a democracy, elections are very important as the public has a say in which political group will
lead. In South Africa the elections are different for the different structures. In each structure you will find
a constituent (elected leader of the group). Let’s look at some examples.
▪ National and Political elections: You vote for a political party, and they vote internally for their
overall representative. E.g., The president of South Africa is in that position because their
political party was voted in first. The political party chose the president from within. Depending
on the number of votes for the different political parties, will determine the number pf seats that
they represent in parliament. These elections take place every 5 years.
▪ Municipal or metropole elections also take place every 5 years. Once again you vote for a
political party, and you vote for a ward candidate (The constituent) from within that party. If this
member dies during their term, then there will be a bi-election where a new member is voted in.
▪ Community organization also have elections. However, these usually take place annually. In
this case you would vote for a chairperson, treasurer, and secretary.

Important terminology
 Mandate: A mandate can be described as the power to act, given to the elected leaders that
were voted in. A mandate can also be given by an Act of Law e.g. If a person commits a crime
like steal or murder, they will need to be charged and proven guilty in court. The court would
then give the police a mandate to arrest them. Another example would be that the law: The
South African Revenue Service Act, gives SARS the mandate to collect taxes. This means that
if you earn a salary your company MUST pay income tax on your behalf every month and once
a year you are liable for any shortfall of those taxes when you do a tax return.
 Lobbying: this means trying to influence government officials to make decisions for or against
something e.g.
- An individual or an organization could lobby to ask government to change the price of petrol
- Unions could lobby to ask government on behalf of their workers for a salary increase.
- You could also lobby to ask your local municipality to build a sports park in your local
community.

How do you think a person can lobby?

▪ Write a letter / email to someone in power
▪ Organize a petition
▪ Use social media to gain support for your cause
▪ Hold informal talks with committee members to gain support.

 Advocacy: This can be described as the act or process of supporting the actual cause. Often
citizens would start an advocacy campaign to raise awareness and encourage others to
respond.

How to advocate a social issue

Here is a summary of the main points and a few others you might have missed:
• Organize public meetings to inform the community of the Youth Action Group and how they can
get involved.
• Write to members of parliament and local councilors to lobby for this cause.
• Be creative! Write songs, articles in newspapers, organize events like a concert to promote the
campaign.
• Use social media platforms like Facebook/ Instagram to promote the campaign.
• Share with your friends’ posters over WhatsApp or create interest groups you can update on
events.
• Encourage friends and family members to volunteer and share the campaign on their social
media feed. The more they share the more the word will get out to the public.

Sometimes there are changes in these structures even though the elected period is not up yet. Change
could happen because:

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  The people in the structure change e.g. An MP (Minister of Parliament) passes away and needs
to be replaced.)
 The constitution changes, the mandate changes or there is change through advocacy or
lobbying.
We mentioned in the previous lesson that its only though public participation that you as an individual
could make a change. You have learnt today that you could lobby for a particular action, but you would
need to get involved.

Lesson 4: Role of sport in nation building

Sport in South Africa is big and often brings families, communities together. We could say that sport
contributes to Nation Building. This means that in supporting a team you feel proud of your country. It
is such a beautiful feeling when people of different races / colours / languages come together in
support of their nation. It seems almost like all those other differences just disappear.

Unfortunately, sometimes there could be a bit of tension on the field that causes conflict and reactions
from the spectators. This is a problem all over the world, in every nation not just in school sport. When
sports players behave badly, they set bad examples as role models for those that look up to them and
follow their behaviour. There is a responsibility for both the sports participant and the spectator to
behave appropriately at these sporting events. In this way we will build our nation through being good
roles models.
School’s sports code of conduct.

This code aims to:

• Get rid of racism and discrimination in sport
• Get rid of violent behaviour at sports matches
• Ensure a positive, safe environment for spectators and participants.

Sports can build tolerance, understanding and respect as well as oppose racism and human rights. We
can make friends from strangers that we meet during sports events. When our country takes part in
international matches by hosting them, the country benefits from an influx of people of different
cultures.

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