Participatory governance in the Mauritian local government

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The 2003 Constitution and the 2005 Local Government Act: Public Participation

In this paragraph a definition of constitution is given. Following this a discussion on the provisions of the 2003 Constitution and the 2005 Local Government Act is provided. A constitution forms part of the machinery in the reality of local politics that is designed to achieve the orderly functioning of a community. A constitution is defined as “the whole body of rules, written and unwritten, legal and extralegal, according to which a particular government operates” (Ranney 1995:300). The term constitution has two meanings: first it means the whole corpus of rules (written and unwritten). Secondly it means the constitution, which is a written document embodying some or most of the constitutional rules.
According to Kotze (1997:102) “A constitution embodies the written or unwritten rules forming the highest authority in the land, and it determines the form of the state as well as the distribution of powers among authorities”.

Participatory governance in the Mauritian local government

Openness to public participation in local government policy-making is considered important, because it enables the local residents to influence their everyday-life decisions and thus narrows the gap between the rulers and the ruled (William 1998:21). According to Lando (1999:80), participatory local governance encourages active and daily face-to-face local problem-solving. The participatory local governance aims are more than a simple universal suffrage and the right to influence and select leaders. Proponents of participation advocate the reduction of formal hierarchial constraints and encourage grassroots organization (Hanser 2000:48). Local government is claimed to be the primary channel of public participation in public affairs. Participatory ideals regarding local government imply that active public participation in local policy-making and implementation is both a goal in itself and an instrument for strengthening democracy in the community and in a society at large.
The Constitution of Republic of Mauritius Amendment, 2003 (Act 124 of 2003) and the New Local Government Act, 2005 (Act 23 of 2005), contain specific prescriptions concerning the need for enhanced public participation in policy- making at local government level for promoting good governance. According to section 7 of the New Local Government Act, 2005 (Act 23 of 2005) local good governance is described as a process whereby local government institutions conduct public affairs, manage public resources and guarantees the realization of human rights.
In this regard, good governance in local government is seen as the process through which those charged with the regulation of people’s conduct and the management of resources have as their basic guide and target, the guarantee of basic rights of those that are led. The rights–participatory approach to governance is meant to integrate the norms and standards that are enshrined in the Constitution of the Republic of Mauritius Amendment, 2003 (Act 124 of 2003) and the New Local Government Act, 2005 (Act 23 of 2005).

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CHAPTER 1 GENERAL INTRODUCTION
Introduction
General overview and background to the study
Motivation for the research
Problem statement
Research questions and purpose of this study
Hypothesis
Clarification of key concepts
Public Administration
Participation
Citizen participation
Community participation
Public participation
Public policy
Local government
Scope of the research and the time dimension of the period of study
Method of data collection
Survey questionnaire
Interviews
Reference technique
Framework of the thesis and exposition of chapters
Conclusion
CHAPTER 2 LITERATURE REVIEW PAGE
Introduction
Concept
Some of the forms of public participation
Elections
Consultation
Interest groups
Political parties
Professional groups
The business sector
Sports institutions, cultural and religious bodies .
Referendum
Nonviolent protest
Survey questionnaires
Public hearings
Municipal workshop
Conference
Mass media
Committee meetings
Public meetings
The internet
Levels of public participation
Extractionist public participation
Vertical public participation
Handout-induced public participation
Some of the obstacles to public participation practice
Lack of desire to improve
Lack of awareness of the need
Unacceptable climate
Lack of feedback
Resistance to change
Conflict in public participation
Legislation and policies on public participation with specific reference to Port Louis’ local government
The concept of decentralization on public participation at local government level
The concept of political decentralization in public participation
The concept of administrative decentralization in public participation
The concept of integrated decentralization in public participation
The concept of economic decentralization in public participation
The concept of financial decentralization in public participation
The concept of development on public participation
The concept of democracy on public participation
The concept of participatory democracy at local government level
The concept of representative democracy at local government level
The concept of direct democracy at local government level
The concept of indirect democracy at local government level
Relationship between local government, democracy, decentralization and community development
CHAPTER 3 IMPACT OF THE CONSTITUTIONAL AND LEGISLATIVE FRAMEWORK ON PUBLIC PARTICIPATION IN POLICY-MAKING AND IMPLEMENTATION
Introduction
The 2003 Constitution and the 2005 Local Government Act: Public Participation
Participatory governance in the Mauritian local government
Port Louis’ local government structure
Public participation in information provision to policy-makers and implementers
Public participation through access to local government information
Public participation through responsiveness to public needs
Public participation through accountability to public needs
Public participation in developmental local government
Public participation through transparency to public needs
Public participation through elite
Public participation through local administration
Public participation in municipal finance
Public participation in local politics
Public participation in socio-economic issues
Public participation through control instrument for the making and implementation of policy
Conclusion
CHAPTER 4 RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODOLOGY
CHAPTER 5 RESEARCH FINDINGS AND ANALYSIS
CHAPTER 6 SUMMARY, CONCLUDING REMARKS AND RECOMMENDATIONS