Stakeholders' Perception of the Local Government Stakeholder Engagement Practices in the Bekkersdal Township

This research investigates community stakeholder perceptions of the local government stakeholder engagement practices in the Bekkersdal Township, south of Johannesburg. Bekkersdal Township has experienced a number of violent service delivery protests in recent years and has been labeled by a specialised local government data and intelligence organisation called Municipal IQ, as a service delivery protest hotspot in the Gauteng Province of South Africa. It is, therefore, essential to obtain a better and clearer picture of stakeholders' perceptions of the local government stakeholder engagement practices because the community's perceptions influence behaviour and, consequently, shape the relationships between stakeholders and the municipality. The research used focus groups to establish stakeholders' perceptions of the local government's stakeholder engagement practices. The findings reveal that the overall perception of the stakeholders of the municipality's stakeholder engagement practices is not favourable and that stakeholders feel that they have been left out of and are not involved in local government activities as a result of the prevailing communication practices of local government.