A meeting was called by the BLC volunteer leaders of Emfuleni on the 6th of October to elect three additional BLC volunteers. We want to welcome the new members and want to congratulate the BLC leaders with their citizen-led approach. “We are very proud of you!”, said Anne Timms the Snr Communication and Stakeholder Engagement Specialist at Zutari to the group about their process.

Emfuleni is part of the Phase 1 development of the UISP at Kwanonqaba.

What is a Citizen-led approach?

It is an approach to development which is led by the citizens themselves.  It differs from participatory planning, monitoring and evaluation which makes space for people to participate in a process which is essentially facilitated externally and feeds into a pre-determined programme or project. Citizen-led approach, on the other hand, is driven primarily by the needs of the citizens themselves.  The people define their own needs, take ownership of processes, describe their own desired futures, seek help in making change happen and measure the success of this process of change themselves. The Mossel Bay Municipality and the implementing agent are walking the journey with the communities to implement the UISP in Kwanonqaba.