Tasneem Essop

[on-hold music] I'm Tasneem Essop, and this is Just Access, The Real Democracy, a podcast from PARI, the Public Affairs Research Institute.

Political parties promise capable leadership, professional municipalities, and an end to corruption.

But what would those commitments need to change inside a municipality? And how could voters tell whether anything is changing? Across this series, we've examined promises about land, water, and electricity.

In our next episode, we look more closely at public participation, how residents can influence municipal decisions, and whether the opportunities to participate give them a meaningful say.

Thank you to Waseem Holland, Sithembile Mbete, and Sarah Menghiburt for joining us.

I'm Tasneem Essop, and you've been listening to Just Access, The Real Democracy, a podcast from PARI, the Public Affairs Research Institute.

To learn more about PARI and its research, visit pari.org.za.

Follow or subscribe wherever you listen to podcasts, and please share this episode with others, and keep listening.

I'm Tasneem Essop, and this is Just Access, The Real Democracy, a podcast from PARI, the Public Affairs Research Institute.

In this episode, we're asking what voters should look for when parties promise more reliable water, cheaper electricity or new approaches to providing services.

What can a municipality actually change? How would those changes be funded and who would benefit? Joining me are PARI researchers Tracy Ledger and Jugal Mahabir.

I'm Tasneem Essop and you're listening to Just Access, The Real Democracy, a podcast from PARI, the Public Affairs Research Institute.

In our first episode, we explored what is at stake in the local government elections and what shapes a municipality's ability to deliver.

This time, we turn to land and to the decisions that determine where people can live, work and build a future.

As voters assess land promises, these are useful questions to keep asking.

Whose circumstances does the proposal address? Whose rights does it recognise? And how would it improve access to secure homes, services and a livelihood? In our next episode, we turn to water, power and the just transition, exploring what promises about basic services mean for access and affordability.

I'm Tasneem Essop, and you've been listening to Just Access, The Real Democracy, a podcast from PARI, the Public Affairs Research Institute.

To learn more about PARI and its research, visit pari.org.za.

Follow or subscribe wherever you listen to podcasts, and please share this episode with others.

When we think about local government elections, we often think about parties, candidates and who will control a council.

But what happens after the votes are counted? Who keeps the water running, the streets maintained and the lights on? And what can a new council actually change when the problems it inherits have been building for years? I'm Tasneem Essop and this is Just Access, The Real Democracy, a podcast from PARI, the Public Affairs Research Institute.

In the weeks leading up to South Africa's local government elections, we'll examine the promises parties are making through Paris' research on municipal government, land, water and energy, state capacity and public participation.

We'll also hear from younger voices about their experiences of local government.

Across the series, we'll take a closer look at those questions through the issues that shape people's lives.

Next time, we turn to land.

Who makes decisions about its use? Whose rights are recognized? And what can local government do about access to it? I'm Tasneem Essop, and you've been listening to Just Access, The Real Democracy, a podcast from PARI, the Public Affairs Research Institute.

To learn more about PARI and its research, visit pari.org.za.