Public participation and the politics of humiliation

ABSTRACT

The article contends that the most popular form of Public Participation (PP) in SA is public protest, which, as a result of historical continuity, represents a direct response to the humiliations experienced by the poor, unemployed and socially excluded. Despite an enlightened human rights Constitution, if citizens are treated as consumers and left to the vagaries of the market PP mechanisms are likely to fail as they do not address the real social issues at the root of the discontent.

KEYWORDS:

• Public participation
• humiliation
• South Africa

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author.

Notes on contributor

Dasarath Chetty, formerly Pro-Vice-Chancellor of the University of KwaZulu-Natal and Vice-President of RC 10, is presently an Adjunct Professor at the Durban University of Technology and a Project Executive at the eThekwini Municipality (Durban).