Journal Entry 1

By Thando Lukuko, Community Partnership Project Officer, 13 November 2018

Smart Citizens

It has been a very exciting few months for the Community Partnership Programme (CPP) Team at Project 90 by 2030, since the 2nd iteration of the SMART Citizens In Action project kicked off in 2018.  

The SMART Citizens In Action program aimed to improve energy access in low-income communities by providing citizens with information, skills and tools in advocacy and in engaging with local government in order to effect changes they wished to see in their communities. Over a two and a half year period, participants from 8 communities in 4 provinces in South Africa were equipped with  a basic understanding of energy and electricity governance (how electricity works in different municipalities); practical steps to save on electricity consumption and costs; and an overview of the common energy / electricity challenges present in both informal settlements and townships – and how to effectively engage local authorities.

Project 90 by 2030 – through this initiative – learned that many communities struggle with getting the assistance they need to resolve basic service delivery challenges i.e. why some households receive free basic electricity and others don’t. Citizens also struggle to get access to information – a cause of regular protests and the massive distrust between municipalities and local communities. Miscommunication is another issue which often leaves communities feeling their concerns are not seen as important due to their low economic status. 

Smart Citizens 2

SMART Citizens in Action 2, aims to further empower these communities by clarifying where their power lies in a democratic society and what tools they will need in order to fully exercise their democratic rights to participate in decisions that affect their communities. 

Developing social accountability is a large component for understanding and monitoring the spending priorities of the national, provincial and local government and is useful when engaging with authorities.  Social accountability and the development of the skills for accurate monitoring can also be an important advocacy tool. Service delivery protests are notorious for gathering bad press as they often turn violent, which result in many communities receiving negative attention to a legitimate plea for help. Effective campaigning skills are therefore also a critical skill to develop to ensure that Community Based Organisations and other actors in these communities can focus their efforts on targeted and more strategic actions that can yield better results. 

Results

Though the project is in its early stages, engagements show some positive results with the participants beginning to canvass their communities and gather information to assist in achieving our objective of having effective participation in decision-making and planning in their communities. As the impacts of climate change increase from year to year, there will come a time where there is insufficient capacity for NGOs to speak on behalf of all these communities. If we can assist community leaders to advocate for the kind of change that seeks to improve society as a whole, then we can grow together as a nation and ensure that we have a livable planet that future generations can be proud of.