While people continue to believe in the power of democracy to make a substantive difference to their lives, the ‘Quality of Life' survey also gives a mixed perspective on whether residents are using, or feel they are able to use, all the options available to them to make their voices heard. There is evidence of extraordinarily high levels of participation in some structures. Forty-two percent of respondents said that someone in their household had attended a ward meeting in the 12 months prior to the survey. Participation in structures such as School Governing Bodies was also high. 

But only 9% of respondents said that they, or a member of their household, had been involved in an Integrated Development Plan (IDP) process. This is concerning, as the IDP is the primary plan governing a municipality’s long-term development trajectory, and medium term and annual plans, and the Municipal Systems Act dictates to local government that residents must be enabled to participate actively in its formulation.