Public participation in the development of one stop development centres : a case study of the Mboza one stop development centre in Umhlabuyalingana Local Municipality.

Abstract

The study is an assessment of the KwaZulu-Natal Provincial Government’s policy approach regarding the introduction of the Mboza One Stop Development Center (OSDC), an endeavor which is being spearheaded by the Provincial Department of Social Development (DSD). The focus of the study is on the Mboza OSDC, which is based at Mboza (in the uMhlabuyalingana Local Municipality). The study asked numerous questions on topics significant to the development of OSDCs with the aims of speeding up integrated service delivery and decentralizing essential services to poor communities. The study also explored the broad theoretical framework, public participation and policy implementation in context. Public participation is at the center of this enquiry. The study employed both, qualitative and quantitative methods of data collection including fieldwork, interviews and surveys. The data were analysed using the Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) version 24 and Microsoft Excel was used to create diagrams. The findings of the study in relation to the key issues investigated revealed the relevance of the OSDCs, mostly in the rural areas of KwaZulu-Natal. It was further found that stakeholders had a significant role to play during the development of the Mboza OSDC. The investigation of the levels of participation concentrated on the degree of citizen power exercised and the degree of tokenism. The communities with OSDCs, such as Mboza, enjoy the benefit of having services offered locally at minimal cost. Thus, public participation proved to be fruitful in the development of the Mboza OSDC.