CAN Co-Governance Series Episode 10 – Protecting Democracy: How community voices can shape South Africa’s future
Throughout the year the Community Action Network (CAN) has hosted a series of webinars focusing on empowering communities to make decisions that impact their neighbourhoods. From providing security solutions, to dealing with land invasions, understanding municipal budgets, considering boycotting rates, confusion over property valuations and how to deal with development planning, these are issues that communities throughout South Africa must confront. In our final webinar for the year, we will discuss that for these fights to be meaningful, democracy must not only be practiced but also protected, particularly at local government level. Professor William Gumede, a staunch advocate of democracy and a calming voice in all the noise, along with OUTA Local Government executive Julius Kleynhans aims to unpack why democracy needs to be entrenched and why community voices matter more than ever as South Africa enters its new political landscape.
Host
Jonathan Erasmus is a project manager at the Community Action Network (CAN), an initiative of OUTA. With a strong background in community engagement, Jonathan works on projects aimed at enhancing local government accountability, promoting citizen participation, and driving municipal reforms. His work often includes collaborating with civil society, resident groups, and stakeholders to address issues of governance, transparency, and service delivery. Through CAN, Jonathan aims to empower communities and build sustainable partnerships to improve government response and foster community-led solutions for local challenges.
Panelist
Julius Kleynhans is a passionate leader and strategist with extensive experience in governance, community advocacy, water and environmental management. As the Executive Manager for Local Government at OUTA, Julius oversees initiatives such as CAN and JoburgCAN, driving co-governance and public engagement to enhance accountability and service delivery. Known for his expertise in execution, leadership, and relationship-building, Julius is committed to creating sustainable solutions for local government challenges
Panelist
William Gumede is Associate Professor, School of Governance at the University of the Witwatersrand. He is Executive Chairperson of Democracy Works Foundation and former Deputy Editor of The Sowetan newspaper.
During the anti-apartheid struggle, Gumede held several leadership positions in South African student, civics and trade union movements. He was a political violence mediator and area coordinator for the National Peace Committee during the multiparty negotiations for a democratic South Africa and was seconded to South Africa’s Truth and Reconciliation Commission. He is the author of several number 1 bestsellers. His more recent books include: Restless Nation: Making Sense of Troubled Times (Tafelberg); and South Africa in BRICS – Salvation or Ruination (Tafelberg).