My most interesting finding was that the residents are aware of other forms of participation, but that they resorted to protest because these other formal channels didn't work for them and because they knew that protest actually works better.
| I wanted to examine some of the realities that the residents of Cato minor are subjected to, with regards to the participation experiences during and in between elections, because there’s often this notion that people protest just because they are drawn to violence. I actually wanted to understand the reasons why the residents of Cato Minor resort to protest. I also just wanted to controbute to the body of knowledge by highlighting some of the realities that the residents of Cato Minor are subjected to and that led them to protest. |
| My most interesting finding was that the residents are aware of other forms of participation, but that they resorted to protest because these other formal channels didn’t work for them and because they knew that protest actually works better. Some residents still use these formal channels, but a lot resort to protest. |
What I concluded was two-fold: First, the ineffectiveness of the formal channels generates a lot of voter apathy. So residents refrain from voting because promises that were made prior to voting were not fulfilled. Second, residents resorts to protest because they do not receive adequate service delivery.
The research was a qualitative review of semi-strucutured interviews of residents of Cato Minor provided by the Center for Civil Society and the Center for Social Change, and a qualitative review of news articles from 2 of the most reputable south African newspapers.
The main limitation is that I was limited in terms of how much was written about the protests in Cato Minor. Using only these two newspapers was also limiting. There may have been more visible sources, or other sources who generated more information on the topic.
| Concept | Definition |
|---|---|
| Public participation | Public participation is the public taking power in order to have an equal voice, to be represented. It was defined in terms of domination structures, when the dominated and the disadvantaged try to bring about meaningful change in the community. |
| Protest | Protest was defined in terms of concrete actions to reach a political goal. So, taking to the streets, blocking roads, organizing marches… |
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