The National Council of Provinces (NCOP), led by Chairperson Refilwe Mtshweni-Tsipane, will roll out its flagship public participation and oversight programme, Taking Parliament to the People (TPTTP), to the Kenneth Kaunda District Municipality in the North West next week.
The programme will run from 12 to 15 May 2026, under the theme: “Celebrating 30 Years of the Constitution: Deepening Participatory Democracy for Service Delivery.”
TPTTP forms part of the NCOP’s constitutional mandate in terms of Section 72, which requires Parliament to facilitate public participation and conduct its business in an open and transparent manner.
Parliament’s spokesperson Moloto Mothapo said the NCOP, as the House representing provincial and local interests at national level, plays a unique and critical role in strengthening South Africa’s democracy.
“Its core functions include oversight over local and provincial government; cooperative governance and protecting provincial interests. The NCOP acts as a bridge, ensuring that provincial and local concerns inform national policy and legislation,” Mothapo said.
He added that the TPTTP programme creates a direct platform for collaboration by bringing together all three spheres of government to the same table, with the same communities.
“Through the TPTTP, delegates to the NCOP assess service delivery challenges first-hand and hold government leaders accountable. The programme, therefore, is not merely a public dialogue but a constitutional exercise in participatory democracy, accountability and cooperative governance. It brings democracy to life at the grassroots level by enabling citizens to voice their concerns and contribute directly to decision-making processes,” Mothapo explained.
It also provides a unique platform for all three spheres of government, including national, provincial and local, to engage collectively on service delivery challenges and policy matters affecting communities.
The programme will enable communities in the Kenneth Kaunda District and surrounding municipalities to engage directly with government leaders on key service delivery issues.
These include local economic development and job creation; infrastructure maintenance, covering water and sanitation, roads, electricity, human settlements, health, and mining; as well as financial management and governance.
Activities will include public hearings, oversight visits to service delivery hotspots, and direct engagements with permanent delegates to the NCOP, Ministers, Members of Provincial Legislatures (MPLs), and local councillors.– SAnews.gov.za
