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Local government is the last political sphere to be redesigned in post-apartheid South Africa. It is also the most complex. In addition to developmental and other new responsibilities, local government is required to govern in ways more democratic than the provincial and national spheres. Central here are the requirements for 'participatory governance' between elections. This imperative is manifest in our cities through unique structures like ward committees, and in all local government through obligations to popular participation in key policy and legal procedures. This article explores the significance of these democratic reforms through case studies of two urban municipalities, Msunduzi (Pietermaritzburg) and Buffalo (East London). The main finding of this research is that participatory governance appears to be working poorly. While this may be the result of ongoing implementation, we suspect it reflects deeper problems of design and political culture. In brief, legislation, formal structures and organisational processes are not articulating effectively with popular desire to participate, of which there is evidence. More over, there might be a causal link between 'internal' democratic practices in municipalities and their 'external' programmes of participatory governance. If correct, this means that institutional reform of 'participatory government' needs to be accompanied by more democratic practices and cultures in municipalities.
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