Investigating participatory development in South Africa and Nigeria: A case study of Stellenbosch and Bwari municipalities

Abstract

This qualitative case-study investigated the level of communities’ participation in developmental initiatives at the grassroots level in Stellenbosch and Bwari municipalities. This was carried out through the prism of the Integrated Development Plan (IDP) and Community and Social Development Project (CSDP) using Kayamandi and Bwari communities in South Africa and Nigeria as case studies respectively. In this study, the participatory development approach was employed as the theoretical bedrock for this investigation. In choosing this approach, the genealogy of participatory development approach was examined in light of the failure of some of the earlier development theories such as the growth, modernization, and dependency theories.