Power to the People

In a democracy, you never make decisions or implement changes without involving the community. This is especially true in South Africa's young democracy. South Africans were deprived the right to oppose the government for so long that now it seems like we are overcompensating. Mind you, I'm not complaining about the number of protests around the country but I am surprised when people who should know better allow for things to escalate to unbearable levels.

A prime example of what I'm talking about is what happened in Mseleni Village located in Umhlabuyalingana. A development project was initiated in the area that would have resulted in 200 jobs for the local community. The area is beautiful and tranquil with pristine landscapes and dense untouched forests. The people who live here, although touched by civilization still live off the land and the river that runs through the village. The proposed project was that of a game reserve and the area is perfect for it. This would have been an amazing tourist destination that would attract both national and international tourists. This would build on the tourism that already occurs in neighbouring Sodwana Bay. The game drive was going to employ locals and boost the economy of the area.

Now this project was being spearheaded by the local chief and I think that they might have assumed that because the chief was on their side, that would mean that the community would also follow suit. Well, they couldn't have been more wrong. The started implementing changes in the area without consulting the residents and one of the biggest sore points was the perimeter fence they built around the area earmarked for the game drive. The problem is that the fence made the river inaccessible to the locals and the locals protested because they fished in the river and their livestock used it for water.

Now this is where some intervention should have occurred, but this did not happen.The developers moved forward with the development and started hiring workers and some of the workers began working. In the midst of all this the community's complaints were falling on deaf ears. To retaliate the local community took down the fence, they hunted and ate the big game that had been bought for the game reserve. Currently the project is at a stand still, the people who had started working are suddenly unemployed and there is uncertainty surrounding the future of the project.

It is unfortunate that something that could have brought so much prosperity has had to be put on ice because a basic and simple step was ignore. This has been proven in South Africa that you cannot begin a project in a community without consulting the said community. This is why the government has a program called public participation as a cornerstone of any planning process in the country. Mistakes like these are not only financially debilitating but also erode the self confidence and moral of a community. I really hope that a way could be found to salvage this process as it has too much potential to shelve.

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