Typ av publikation: Learning Cases | Sida 2

Backyard rentals, municipal connections, and the right to housing, South Africa

This teaching case introduces a scenario involving backyard dwellers in a city in South Africa and raises the question of whether the municipality should provide connection points for municipal services to backyard dwellers. It presents a dilemma between the right to housing on the one hand, and municipal concerns around planning, legal matters, safety, funding for infrastructure investments, on the other. More specifically, it presents a dilemma between two imperatives, namely (1) realising the right of access to housing for the poor, and (2) the need to integrate service delivery in a sustainable manner into municipal systems. Moreover, the teaching case encourages municipal practitioners to incorporate a rights-based perspective into town planning and municipal service delivery decisions.

Typ av publikation

Learning Cases

Projektområde

Inclusive leadership and governance

Globala mål

12 - Hållbar konsumtion och produktion16 - Fredliga och inkluderande samhällen

Tema

Human Rights

Youth participation in local government in South Africa

This scenario relates to the right of youth to participate in local government and introduces a case of land and water pollution in the Municipality of Lower Valley, which intersects with a variety of rights – (1) right to participate, (2) right of access to food and (3) right to a safe environment. The Municipality is in a dilemma and unsure of whether to continue to use only ward committees for the purposes of consulting the public or to explore alternatives that may help bring youth’s voices on board. If the Municipality continues to use ward committees as public participation for soliciting citizens’ views, it risks excluding the youth, given that these structures often do not ‘talk’ to them or their needs. The Municipality is also facing the difficult task of whether to reprioritise money that was allocated to developing sports and youth centres to fund cleaning and rehabilitating polluted land and rivers.

The Teaching Case encourages practitioners to approach a complex and urgent environmental health issue on the basis of a human rights-based approach. The main lesson from this case is that while the right to a safe environment and the right to access food are important, they should not be pursued at the expense of the right of residents of the municipality, in particular the youth, to participate in municipal affairs. A path forward will lie in establishing mechanisms to involve the youth in municipal affairs in ways that that are more creative and responsive than the standardised public participation mechanisms.

Typ av publikation

Learning Cases

Projektområde

Inclusive leadership and governance

Globala mål

16 - Fredliga och inkluderande samhällen4 - God utbildning för alla

Tema

Human Rights

Language rights in local governance, South Africa

This teaching case illustrates the importance of communities to engage the municipality in their own language and the tension and potential exclusion that arises when community members are forced to engage in a mainstream language.

On the one hand, the municipal administration, working with limited resources, wants to limit the number of languages used, and focus on efficient communication. On the other hand, those communities that do not find the mainstream language accessible are unlikely to be heard in the process, muting their voices and concerns.

The right to language and culture is recognised in many societies, as is the right to open and transparent communication on matters that affect communities. Yet, language and cultural differences can become a communication and political barrier within municipalities and between communities. In a growing number of municipalities, it has become a cause for conflict and unrest.

This case study exposes practitioners to the notion that language barriers may be subtle, but they can have immense consequences for the social, economic and political rights of communities to engage in democratic processes. It will also encourage local practitioners and politicians to explore creative ways in which to ensure fruitful and productive engagement with more inclusive language policies, strategies to listen and hear communities and potentially neutralise tensions between communities and municipalities.

Typ av publikation

Learning Cases

Projektområde

Inclusive leadership and governance

Globala mål

10 - Minskad ojämlikhet

Tema

Human Rights