IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/rbs/ijbrss/v14y2025i8p25-35.html

Social media for public participation in Mossel Bay municipality: Opportunities and challenges

Author

Listed:
  • Ayakha W Magxotwa

    (University of the Western Cape)

  • Fundiswa T Khaile

    (University of the Western Cape)

Abstract

This paper examines the role of social media in enhancing public participation within the Mossel Bay Municipality, focusing on both opportunities and challenges. While social media platforms have become important channels for communication, participation, and accountability between citizens and local government, their integration into governance processes in South Africa remains underexplored. Existing literature primarily focuses on national-level initiatives or metropolitan municipalities, leaving a gap in understanding the dynamics of social media use in smaller municipal contexts. This research addresses this gap by investigating how social media platforms can strengthen citizen engagement, participation, and accountability in a local municipality. Employing a qualitative approach, the study involved semi-structured interviews with 20 participants, including municipal officials, councillors, and ward committee members. The findings reveal that social media offers significant opportunities to engage diverse audiences, particularly youth, working adults, and urban populations often excluded from traditional participation channels. However, challenges such as digital inequality, limited interaction, and insufficient strategic planning constrain its effectiveness. The study underscores the need for Mossel Bay Municipality to move beyond one-way communication and develop a comprehensive social media strategy with clear goals, interactive mechanisms, and inclusive engagement practices. By focusing on a local municipal context, this research advances e-governance scholarship in South Africa, highlighting practical strategies for leveraging social media to enhance participatory governance and promote social inclusion. Key Words: Social media; public participation; active citizenry; municipality; service delivery

Suggested Citation

  • Ayakha W Magxotwa & Fundiswa T Khaile, 2025. "Social media for public participation in Mossel Bay municipality: Opportunities and challenges," International Journal of Research in Business and Social Science (2147-4478), Center for the Strategic Studies in Business and Finance, vol. 14(8), pages 25-35, December.
    • Handle: RePEc:rbs:ijbrss:v:14:y:2025:i:8:p:25-35
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://ssbfnet.com/ojs/index.php/ijrbs/article/view/4525
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://ssbfnet.com/ojs/index.php/ijrbs/article/view/4525
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Xolani Thusi & Nzuzo Mayisela & Mandisi Matyana, 2023. "An investigation into the effectiveness of public participation mechanisms on service delivery within the Newcastle local municipality," International Journal of Research in Business and Social Science (2147-4478), Center for the Strategic Studies in Business and Finance, vol. 12(4), pages 363-373, June.
    2. Yanliu Lin & Stijn Kant, 2021. "Using Social Media for Citizen Participation: Contexts, Empowerment, and Inclusion," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(12), pages 1-14, June.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Ambani Nemakanga & Maijane Mashamaite, 2024. "A comprehensive overview of public participation in South African Local Government," International Journal of Research in Business and Social Science (2147-4478), Center for the Strategic Studies in Business and Finance, vol. 13(7), pages 550-556, October.
    2. Mariangela Vespa & Timo Kortsch & Jan Hildebrand & Petra Schweizer-Ries & Sara Alida Volkmer, 2022. "Not All Places Are Equal: Using Instagram to Understand Cognitions and Affect towards Renewable Energy Infrastructures," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(7), pages 1-19, March.
    3. Mahlatse Ragolane & Thabiso Malatji, 2024. "Enhancing Public Participation Through Ward Councillors And Committees In The Greater Tzaneen Municipality," Social Sciences and Education Research Review, Department of Communication, Journalism and Education Sciences, University of Craiova, vol. 11(1), pages 340-350, July.
    4. Semakaleng Mabotja & Sharol Sibongile Mkhomazi, 2024. "Critical components enhancing the functionality and performance of contact centre operations," International Journal of Research in Business and Social Science (2147-4478), Center for the Strategic Studies in Business and Finance, vol. 13(8), pages 234-247, November.
    5. Lindsey C. Espino & Charry Mae Delasan & Paul Justine Butal & Katherine Ferraren, 2025. "Sharpening Environmental Policy: From the Lens of Non-Government Organization," International Journal of Research and Innovation in Social Science, International Journal of Research and Innovation in Social Science (IJRISS), vol. 9(8), pages 6534-6549, August.
    6. Jithesh Arayankalam & Satish Krishnan, 2023. "ICT-Based Country-Level Determinants of Social Media Diffusion," Information Systems Frontiers, Springer, vol. 25(5), pages 1881-1902, October.
    7. Tholani Zondo & Richard Mthethwa & Mzwandile Refuge Xaba, 2024. "Enhancing public participation for local economic development insights from Jozini Local Municipality," International Journal of Research in Business and Social Science (2147-4478), Center for the Strategic Studies in Business and Finance, vol. 13(5), pages 731-742, July.
    8. Mandisi Matyana & Xolani Thusi, 2023. "Making public service delivery more accessible to people with disabilities: The South African government narrative," International Journal of Research in Business and Social Science (2147-4478), Center for the Strategic Studies in Business and Finance, vol. 12(7), pages 413-418, October.
    9. Sanne Ichelle Dubbelink & Carolina Herrando & Efthymios Constantinides, 2021. "Social Media Marketing as a Branding Strategy in Extraordinary Times: Lessons from the COVID-19 Pandemic," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(18), pages 1-21, September.
    10. Huishui Su & Yu Lu & Oleksii Lyulyov & Tetyana Pimonenko, 2023. "Good Governance within Public Participation and National Audit for Reducing Corruption," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(9), pages 1-17, April.
    11. Fátima de Souza FREIRE & Giovanni Pacelli Carvalho Lustosa COSTA & Vinicius Mendes MARTINS & Mayla Cristina Costa Maroni SARAIVA, 2025. "Automating Public Governance Oversight: Evidence From The Federal District Of Brazil," REVISTA ADMINISTRATIE SI MANAGEMENT PUBLIC, Faculty of Administration and Public Management, Academy of Economic Studies, Bucharest, Romania, vol. 2025(45), pages 91-109.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    ;
    ;
    ;
    ;
    ;

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:rbs:ijbrss:v:14:y:2025:i:8:p:25-35. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Umit Hacioglu (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://edirc.repec.org/data/ssbffea.html .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.