People's participation in rural development : a case study of four rural areas in Molopo (North-West Region)

M.A.The Rural Development strategy is very important to the dominantly rural Molopo District of the North-West Province of South Africa. However, the majority of the case studies in Africa seem to suggest that the strategy is always 'top-down' (void of people's participation). The failure of this strategy to alleviate rural poverty is mostly predicated on this nature. This study examines the prevalence of people's participation in all the stages of the rural development projects, in four rural areas in the Molopo District. The study was done through literature review and testing the theory (by use of questionnaires and interviews) on people's participation in the four rural areas. The findings reveal a dire need for people's participation in the rural development projects. One may argue that though people's participation renders projects more effective and successful, the stages at which involvement can occur are varied. In the final analysis, the case studies of two most successful and two least successful projects are discussed. In conclusion, the study makes recommendations to the rural development agencies in the North-West to practise meaningful and realistic people's participation in their projects