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Ward Committees and Public Participation in Local Government

Public participation is often reduced to a hall booking and an attendance register. Ward committees, established under the Municipal Structures Act, are meant to carry community concerns into the council agenda. Committee establishment, meeting discipline, complaint tracking, and public meetings where trust has already broken down.

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Register for this course

What you will be able to do

  • Establish and constitute ward committees in line with the Municipal Structures Act.
  • Plan participation processes for the integrated development plan, the budget and tariff decisions.
  • Record community issues and track them through to a departmental response.
  • Report back to residents on progress, delays and decisions taken by council.
  • Chair difficult public meetings, including those following service delivery protests.
  • Evaluate whether participation is influencing council decisions or merely documenting them.

Course outline

  1. 01Legal basis for ward committees
  2. 02Establishment, election and constitution
  3. 03Meeting practice and record keeping
  4. 04Issue logging and departmental referral
  5. 05Participation in planning and budget processes
  6. 06Feedback, reporting back and managing conflict

Who should attend

Ward councillors, ward committee members, public participation and community liaison officers, offices of the speaker, and communications staff in municipalities.

Dates, venues and fees

DatesVenueDaysFeeCalendarRegister
2 to 3 Nov 2026Johannesburg2R10,000Register
3 to 4 Nov 2026Cape Town2R10,000Register
4 to 5 Nov 2026Durban2R10,000Register
5 to 6 Nov 2026Pretoria2R10,000Register
9 to 10 Nov 2026Windhoek2US$1,100Register
10 to 11 Nov 2026Gaborone2US$1,100Register
11 to 12 Nov 2026Maseru2US$1,100Register
12 to 13 Nov 2026Mbabane2US$1,100Register
16 to 17 Nov 2026Lusaka2US$1,100Register
17 to 18 Nov 2026Harare2US$1,100Register
18 to 19 Nov 2026Lilongwe2US$1,100Register
19 to 20 Nov 2026Blantyre2US$1,100Register
23 to 24 Nov 2026Mozambique2US$1,100Register
24 to 25 Nov 2026Nairobi2US$1,100Register
25 to 26 Nov 2026Dar es Salaam2US$1,100Register
26 to 27 Nov 2026Kigali2US$1,100Register
30 Nov to 1 Dec 2026Kampala2US$1,100Register
1 to 2 Dec 2026Accra2US$1,100Register
2 to 3 Dec 2026Lagos2US$1,100Register
3 to 4 Dec 2026Cairo2US$1,100Register
7 to 8 Dec 2026Mauritius2US$1,100Register
8 to 9 Dec 2026Dubai2US$1,100Register
9 to 10 Dec 2026Online2US$900Register

Fees are per delegate. South African venues are priced in rand; other locations and online in US dollars. Fees exclude 15% VAT where applicable. Group bookings of three or more delegates from the same organisation qualify for a reduced rate; contact us for a quotation.

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Next session
5 to 9 Oct 2026
Venue
Lagos
5 day programme
FromR18,000
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