Amplifying Community Voices in Makhado Municipality

The Amplifying Community Voices in Makhado Municipality project began in May 2006 and is an initiative of the University of Venda in partnership with the Makhado Municipality and WK Kellogg Foundation. It is being implemented in 5 pilot Wards (1,17,20,29,37) in the municipality nearest to Louis Trichardt. The project is implemented through Ward Committees. UNIVEN provided Ward Council members with intensive training in legislative frameworks, and government programmes in an effort to increase the Council members’ capacity to govern effectively. UNIVEN also trained locals in participatory development facilitation and tools, who encourage their fellow community members to participate and vote on decisions made in discussions about problems and solutions regarding local development. They are called “foot soldiers of social change.” The foot soldiers also conduct surveys to collect villagers’ views. With the help of the foot soldiers, Ward Committees facilitate community workshops where the local people devise and approve their own development plan, mobilize resources, implement action plans and share their experiences.

Innovation

This is a new kind of initiative in Limpopo. Training community volunteers as foot soldiers is a unique way of increasing community participation in municipal affairs and improving governance.

Effectiveness

Continuous review and feedback meetings at Ward, University and Municipality levels serve to evaluate the effectiveness of this project. More than 7 of these workshops have been conducted in each of the 5 pilot Wards. There has been a marked increase in attendance/participation of community members in development activities since the introduction of the project. In fact, 2-5 times more people participated in the Integrated Development Programme processes in the pilot Wards compared to the year before its introduction. 166 volunteers have been trained in techniques for facilitating community engagement and the first issue of the project’s magazine, Community Voices Amplifier, was produced. Many non-pilot Ward Councillors express interest in being included in the project. This project’s weakness is that coordination and implementation are spearheaded by volunteers and people employed in other capacities who cannot fully commit themselves to the project.

Poverty Impact

This project facilitates community discussion about poverty issues and encourages community members to devise an action plan for change but to date poverty reduction schemes have yet to be implemented.

Sustainability

The WK Kellogg Foundation is the major funder, providing 75% of the project budget. UNIVEN supplies 10%, and the Makhado Municipality provides 15%. The WK Kellogg Foundation’s contribution is managed by UNIVEN, and the Makhado Municipality is responsible for managing its own finances. Funding from the WK Kellogg Foundation is secure until the end of April, 2008. The Foundation has indicated that the project can expect another 2 years of funding based on its progress to date. Makhado Municipality is hoping to secure funding for another 33 Wards. The project is constantly grooming local leaders and equipping them with tools for facilitating participatory development in hopes of entrenching the democratic values that the project embraces and promoting a great deal of community ownership.

Replication

Ideally, a similar project could be replicated throughout an entire municipality. This project currently serves 5 Wards, a total of 65 000 people. UNIVEN produced its magazine, Community Voices Amplifier, for this project in hopes that other municipalities might borrow some of their ideas and methodology. Potential constraints for this type of project consist mainly of funding and availability of willing participants/volunteers.

Partnerships

• Makhado Municipality (15%)
• WK Kellogg Foundation (75%)
• University of Venda (10%)