Who We Are
Local Government
Public Dialogues & Fora
Political forums are aimed at creating a platform for dialogue and debate between leaders, experts, academic and civil society. These debates seek to advocate accountability and public participation.
Public Forum: Reforming the Education System-what is the way forward?
4 August 2010 - Southern Sun, Elangeni: Against the backdrop of changes to the schooling system that had been announced by the Minister for Basic Education and also mindful of the problems and the ongoing reform process in the education system, the DDP hosted a discussion forum on education policy.
Public Forum: The 2010 FIFA World Cup and its impact on South Africans
July 2nd, 2010, Southern Sun Elangeni Hotel - Three weeks into the tournament, DDP hosted a public forum on the 2010 FIFA World Cup to critically examine the costs and benefits that the event was expected to yield and has yielded for South Africa and its people. Three speakers who have publicized on different issues around the World Cup were invited and gave inputs for subsequent discussion. They were Sam Sole, an investigative journalist for the Mail & Guardian, Dr. Orli Bass, who is with UKZN’s Centre for Critical Research on Race and Identity and Prof. Brij Maharaj, from the Department of Geography at UKZN.
Public forum discussion on Eskom’s $3.5 bn World Bank loan and its implications for ordinary South Africans
Thursday, 20 May 2010, Southern Sun, Elangeni, Durban - The forum sought to address issues around the controversial loan that has been granted by the World Bank to help finance Eskom’s build programme, specifically the large coal-fired plant the parastatal power utility is currently building in Medupi, Limpopo. DDP was pleased to welcome two speakers to this event, namely Prof. Patrick Bond from the Centre for Civil Society and Mr. Bobby Peek, from the environmental NGO groundwork.
Public forum discussion on Lifestyle Audits
Tuesday, 24 March 2010, Southern Sun, Elangeni, Durban - The controversial idea of lifestyle audits being conducted on politicians triggered a lively debate with some welcoming it while others said it created an impression that black politicians were corrupt. Political analyst, Dumisani Hlophe and University of Kwa-Zulu Natal political analyst, Zakhele Ndlovu presented their views at the forum.
Roundtable discussion on socioeconomic rights.pdf
Wednesday, March 3, 2010, Saartjie Baartman Centre, Cape Town - The DDP hosted a discussion with members of grassroots organisations to determine their thinking of South Africa’s much vaunted constitutionally enshrined socioeconomic rights, based on the experience of their everyday life activities and others with whom they share similar social conditions.
Public forum discussion on the State of the Nation Address.pdf
Tuesday, 23 February 2010, Southern Sun, Elangeni, Durban - The aim of the public forum was to deeply analyze and interrogate the State of the Nation Address (SONA) that was delivered by the Honorable, President JG Zuma on the 11th of February 2010. Presentations were made by Dr. Mcebisi Ndletyana, Senior Research Specialist of the Human Science Research Council (HSRC) and Dr. Siphamandla Zondi, Executive Director of the Institute for Global Dialogue (IGD)
Public forum discussion on electricity policy in post-apartheid South Africa
Thursday, November 26, 2009, Southern Sun, Elangeni, Durban - The discussion was to assess the redistributional effects of the post-apartheid South African state’s electricity policy, how it is gendered and its impact on grassroots political activism. Professor Greg Ruiters (Institute of Social and Economic Research /Rhodes Univ.), Ms. Nthabiseng Mohlokoana (Democracy and Governance/HSRC) and Mr. Trevor Ngwane (Soweto Electricity Crisis Committee) presented at the forum.
Public forum on gender and sex
Tuesday, October 27, 2009, Southern Sun Elangeni Hotel,Durban - The discussion explored how Caster Semenya’s sex testing saga speaks to societal understandings of gender and sex, and the opportunities that it present for reflecting on societal perceptions of masculinity and femininity.
Seminar: Practices of Participatory Democracy.pdf
Wednesday, September 9, 2009, Diakonia, Durban - The aim of the seminar was to explore practices of participatory democracy in Brazil, Venezuela and India with a view to establishing what lessons can be learnt for the South African context. It ventured an assessment of Participatory Budgeting in Brazil and compared it with the Venezuelan experience of Communal Councils. Additionally, it explored the way India’s historically disadvantaged castes and women are participating in the Panchayati Raj Institutions (PRIs) that were established by the Indian government in 1993.
Workshop: Institutional Participation in the South African Public Sphere
7-8 September 2009, Southern Sun - Elangeni, Durban - The purpose of the workshop was to critically assess whether the array of local forums and other mechanisms created by the state for citizen participation since 1994 are enhancing democratic participation in public policy, and to compare the South African context with the Brazilian and Indian experiences. The workshop report has been been attached and the publication will be availble by email on request.
DDP public forum on community protests
Thursday, August 20, 2009, Southern Sun Elangeni Hotel, Durban - Professor John Williams from the School of Government at the University of the Western Cape presented a highly informative and illuminating perspective on the reasons for post-apartheid South Africa’s surfeit of community protests. According to Professor Williams, South Africa’s democratic order is characterised by limited citizenship participation in politics and governance, a shift from racial apartheid to class apartheid, the creation of a black middle class as a buffer against the poor and extremely high levels of poverty. Thus, South Africa’s democratic citizenship has been one of minimal political equality and substantive economic inequality.
Public Forum on Political Participation
30 June 2009,Southern Sun, Elangeni - Professor Steven Robins presented a synopsis of his recently published book, From Revolution to Rights in South Africa: Social movements, NGOs and Popular politics after Apartheid.
The Future of the Warwick Early Morning Market
20 May 2009, DUT City Campus, 12h00 – 14h00 - The DDP hosted a public forum to canvass public opinion on the City of Durban’s plan to replace the Warwick Early Morning Market with a western-style private shopping mall. The meeting was attended by about 600 people, including street and market traders, international representatives of informal traders, trade union representatives, political activists and members of the broader public.
Afrobarometer Briefing
18 May 2009, Southern Sun, Elangeni - The Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung (KAS) in partnership with the Institute for Democracy in South Africa (Idasa) and the DDP organised a series of Afrobarometer Workshops for different target groups, like business, civil society, politicians and media with the aim to provide them with relevant extracts of survey findings and trends.
Debate on jobs and informal work between political society and civil society
7 April 2009, Arthur Smith Hall, DUT, Smith street campus - Political party representatives were Mr. Dion George from the DA, Mr. Velaphi Ndlovu from the IFP, Mr. Wayne Thring from the ACDP, Mr. Lucky Mthethwa from NADECO, Mr. Nthlathla Buthelezi from COPE and Mr. Bongani Msomi from the UDM.
Political Party Panel Discussion
24 March 2009, Southern Sun, Elangeni - A public panel discussion was held in view of the national and provincial elections in South Africa where seven of the major parties participated. Citizen participants were drawn from all ten districts of KwaZulu Natal and in total more than 170 people participated in the event. Parties represented included the African National Congress(ANC), the Inkatha Freedom Party(IFP), the Democratic Alliance(DA), the Congress of the People (COPE), NADECO, the African Christian Democratic Party (ACDP) and the United Democratic Movement(UDM).
Dialogue on Racism and Diversity
16 March 2009, The Riverside Hotel, Durban North - There has been a reluctance to deal openly and truthfully about the complexity of Race and Diversity issues in South Africa. The recent xenophobic attacks and the ongoing racial divide have deeper roots that, if not dealt with in an appropriate manner, may well result in a worsening crisis.
Party Support and Voting Patterns in Post-Apartheid South Africa
26 February 2009, Elangeni Hotel - The purpose of the discussion was to make critical sense of post-apartheid trends of party support and voting behaviour. Professor Mattes’ analysis dealt with four aspects: partisan identification, political and economic performance, perceptions about political images and voter turn outs.
Political Forum: Reflecting on the Nicholson Judgement: Has it served the cause of Democracy?
15 October 2008, Southern Sun, Elangeni,Durban - The purpose of the forum was to zero-in on Judge Chris Nicholson’s political inferences with a view to evaluating whether his objective to enforce the principle of judicial independence was achieved.
Political Forum: Reflecting on the baneful reality of gender-based violence in South Africa
28 August 2008, Southern Sun, Elangeni,Durban - The purpose of the forum was to uncover the social factors that encourage or support the practice of gender-based violence in South Africa. The meeting was well attended by representatives of different civil society and political organisations and ordinary members of society. The discussion was led by Professor Relebohile Moletsane who is the head of the Human Science Research Council’s Gender and Development Unit.
Political Forum The Relationship between Representative and Participatory Democracy in Post-Apartheid South Africa
23 July 2008, Southern Sun, Elangeni - The purpose of the forum was to explore how a thicker relationship between representative and participatory forms of democracy could create possibilities for constructing alternative power relations between the state and society.
DDP/SAHRC Workshop: Films and Publications Act
7 July 2008, Diakonia - This workshop was the third of a series of dissemination workshops on various pieces of legislation that DDP and the SAHRC are currently co-hosting. The purpose of the workshop was to dissect elements of the Films and Publications Amendment Bill.
Sexual Offences Amendment Bill: Workshop
24 June 2008, Diakonia: The purpose of the workshop was to heighten awareness of the provisions of the Sexual Offences Amendment Bill, which was recently signed into law.
Political Forum
24 June 2008, Southern Sun, Elangeni,Durban - DDP hosted a discussion to gauge public perceptions of how the decision to disband the Scorpions or Directorate for Special Operations (DSO) reflects on our democracy and whether its disbandment will harm or benefit our country’s crime-fighting capacity. The forum was well attended by representatives of a broadswathe of political parties and civil society organisations, including the DA, IFP, UDM, SANCO, ANCYL, SAYC, etc.
Xenophobia
5 June 2008 ( Diakonia Council of Churches, Durban) - The DDP in collaboration with the Kwazulu Natal Christian Council hosted a workshop in Durban to provide a platform for a plan of action with regard to the recent spate of Xenophobia that has gripped the country and displaced many communities in Durban.
Dissemination Workshop on Practices of Decentralisation: The Kerala Experiment
28 May 2008, The Hilton Hotel, Durban - The DDP was privileged to host Dr. Thomas Isaac, the Minister of Finance for the State of Kerala in India to address the NGO, academic and local government practitioners in KwaZulu Natal about the successful decentralization experiment in that State. The purpose of the engagement was to share some of the challenges that they faced and to share their reasons for success. The approach used depended both on having a redistributive element as well as a highly participatory process involving all the citizens of the State. Dr.Isaac engaged local experts on some of the lessons learnt from the Kerala experience in relation to the current decentralization debate in South Africa.
The relationship between non-racialism, democracy and citizenship
20 May 2008 (Southern Sun, Elangeni, Durban) - DDP hosted a follow-up debate on race. The discussion explored the dynamic relationship between non-racialism, democracy and citizenship. Professor Chipkin’s presentation explored the differing meanings of “blackness” with respect to two traditions of nationalist politics, namely, Non-racialism and African Nationalism.
The Meaning of Race in Democratic South Africa.pdf
1 April 2008, Southern Sun, Elangeni, Durban - Against the backdrop of the recent spate of racial incidents DDP hosted a public debate on “The Meaning and Role of Race in Democratic South Africa”. Dr Steven Friedman, Research Associate, IDASA addressed the forum. He is pictured with Mr Ibrahim Steyn, Research Coordinator, DDP.
The ANC in the aftermath of Polokwane
25 February 2008, Southern Sun, Elangeni, Durban - The DDP in collaboration with the Centre for Public Participation hosted this critical dialogue forum. Presentations were delivered by Mr Mazibuko Jara and Mr Kiru Naidu.
Public interest vs private issues: The role of the media?
30 October 2007 - Southern Sun, Elangeni, Durban - The media is one of the primary organs of democratic society. When there is failure of the media, democratic society as a whole is threatened. There is a need for media to balance public access to the private lives of public figures in order for both the right to privacy and freedom of speech to be upheld.
The Children's Bill
30 August 2007, Elangeni Hotel, Durban - Speakers: Rev / Dr Luke Ngoetjana (Church Provincial Advocacy Officer: KwaZulu-Natal Council of Churches) and Carol Bower (Independent Consultant on Child Welfare Issues)
Relations between the ANC and IFP What should be done in KZN (Durban)
26 April 2007, Elangeni Hotel, Durban - Speakers: Prof Vialkazi (Vilakazi Development Strategies
A Basic Income Grant A Solution For Poverty In South Africa (Durban)
27 March 2007, Elangeni Hotel, Durban - Speakers: Ms Karen Read (Diakonia) and Ms Divya Naidoo (Black Sash)
Is there an Education Crisis in South Africa? (Durban)
15 February 2007, Elangeni Hotel, Durban - The audience was addressed by Mr S C Nkosi from the South African Democratic Teachers' Union (KZN); Mr Anthony Pierce from the National Professional Teachers' Organization of South Africa (NAPTOSA-KZN) and Prof Renuka Vithal from the University of KwaZulu-Natal.
Crime In South Africa Is The Nation Losing Its Battle? (Durban)
28 September 2006, Elangeni Hotel - Durban - Dr Johan Burger (Institute for Security Studies) and Dr Monique Marks (UKZN) addressed delegates on the issue of crime in South Africa.
Community Dialogue Khayelitsha (Cape Town)
(13 September 2006, Khayelitsha Training Centre - Cape Town) - This was the second dialogue out of a series that aims at increasing public participation in Khayelitsha. Councillors and NGO representatives of Khayelitsha had been invited.
KwaZulu-Natal or KwaZulu?
30 August 2006, Elangeni Hotel - Durban - What are the pros and cons of changing the name of the Province? This question was addressed by Mr Mark Steele (DA), Mr Langa Mtshali (CLRDC) and Mr Nhlanhla Mtaka (Isithangami Project).
Kwamakhutha Community Dialogue: Service Delivery and Cooperation of Stakeholders Towards Quality Delivery at KwaMakhutha
18 August 2006, KwaMakhutha - Durban - The public of KwaMakutha was addressed by Sister Mkhize (KwaMakhutha Clinic), Cllr Ntuli (Ward Councillor), Captain Shandu (South African Police Services), Mr Linda Gumende (Community Policing Forum), Mrs Zuma (Department of Social Welfare) and Mr Press Bhuti (YMCA).
The Presidential Succession Battle
26 July 2006, Durban - The event was addressed by Dumisani Hlophe (Chief Director: Policy Development Coordination Gauteng Office of the Premier), Kristin Palitza (Editor of AGENDA - A women empowerment organization) and Dr Thenjiwe Magwaza (Senior Lecturer: Gender Studies School of Anthropology, Gender & Historical Studies Howard College Campus)
Service Delivery and Cooperation of Stakeholders Towards Quality Delivery at KwaMakhutha
28 June 2006, KwaMakhutha - Durban - In order to promote active citizen participation, the DDP and CRC hosted a stakeholder dialogue at KwaMakhutha. The meeting provided citizens with an opportunity to express their views on matters of development, safety and security, health and social welfare.
Impact and Future of the Floor Crossing Legislation
22 June 2006, Durban - The forum was addressed by Mr Zakhele Ndlovu from the University of KwaZulu-Natal and Dr John Daniel from the HSRC.
Towards Accelerated Municipal Performance ... the Betterment of the Lives of the People
23 May 2006, Durban - The forum was addressed by Mr Mvusi Mgeyane (SALGA-KZN), Ms Jacquie Subban (eThekwini Municipality) and Mr BB Biyela (Uthungulu Municipality). The report can be downloaded.
Coalition Government in Cape Town Implications and Challenges for Delivery
17 May 2006, Cape Town - The event was addressed by MEC for Local Government and Housing Richard Dyantyi, Executive Mayor Helen Zille and Ms Anthea Houston (Executive Director: Development Action Group, DAG).
Mayoral Candidate Debate in Cape Town
15 February 2006, Cape Town - Speakers Mayor Mfeketo (Mayor of Cape Town, ANC); Ms Helen Zille (Mayoral candidate, DA); Ms Pauline Cupido (Mayoral candidate, ACDP) and Mr Simon Grindrod (Mayoral candidate, ID) discussed how they the implementation of their manifestoes in Cape Town.
Local Government Election 2006: What are the Issues?
15 February 2006, Durban - Six political parties sent representatives to the forum as speakers: Mr Charles Chetty (UDM), Dr Buthelezi (IFP), Mr Wayne Thring (ACDP), Ms Lydia Johnson (ANC), Rev H Mbatha (NADECO), Mr Roger Burrows (DA). The panel was joined by Mr Mawethu Mosery (IEC).
Seminar: MEDIA FREEDOM UNDER THREAT?
