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This guide explains the role, structure, and functioning of ward committees within South African local government, detailing their purpose as bridges between communities and municipal councillors to facilitate public participation.

This guide, published by the Public Affairs Research Institute, aims to empower youth in South Africa to participate in local government and municipal planning. It outlines the legal frameworks supporting youth engagement, highlights the gap between the youth population and their representation in government, and provides practical ways for young people to influence local decision-making.

This guide, published by the Public Affairs Research Institute, aims to empower youth in South Africa to participate in local government and influence municipal planning. It outlines the legal frameworks supporting youth engagement, highlights the current gap between the youth population and their political representation, and provides practical ways for young people to engage with their municipalities.

This guide, published by the Public Affairs Research Institute, aims to empower youth in South Africa to participate in local government and influence municipal planning. It outlines the legal frameworks supporting youth engagement, highlights the current underrepresentation of young people in political decision-making, and provides practical ways for youth to engage with their municipalities.

This report by the Public Affairs Research Institute examines land governance within the Ekurhuleni Municipality, detailing the legislative frameworks, institutional roles, and the systemic challenges associated with land acquisition and the management of informal settlements. It highlights the tension between municipal mandates and the realities of land invasions, environmental constraints like dolomitic land, and the role of civil society in mediating between the state and marginalized residents.

This report by the Public Affairs Research Institute (PARI) examines the failure of South Africa to provide equitable and affordable access to sufficient water, despite constitutional guarantees. It argues that the state has substituted a comprehensive human-rights definition of access with a narrow focus on physical infrastructure, while ignoring affordability and water quality. The report highlights the inadequacy of the Free Basic Water (FBW) policy and the systemic contradiction between municipal financial sustainability and the human right to water.

This report, produced by a partnership between the Institute for Poverty, Land and Agrarian Studies (PLAAS), the South African Local Government Association (SALGA), and the Public Affairs Research Institute (PARI), proposes a framework for an 'integrated land administration' system in South Africa. It argues that current land governance is fragmented, dualistic, and hindered by a legacy of racial segregation, which undermines land reform and social cohesion. The document defines land administration as the operational component of land governance and outlines the Integrated Land Administration Project (ILAP) to address these systemic failures through stakeholder engagement and institutional reform.

This report examines land-use management in the Lephalale Local Municipality, focusing on the challenges of a municipality that owns almost no land within its urban edge. It details the municipality's strategies for land acquisition, the provision of integrated human settlements, and the incremental introduction of land-use schemes in rural areas under traditional authorities, specifically the Seleka Traditional Authority. The document highlights the influence of major mining and energy companies, the impact of the Spatial Planning and Land Use Management Act (SPLUMA), and the complexities of intergovernmental relations.

This briefing by Mduduzi Mbada of the Public Affairs Research Institute outlines the GGT2030 strategy for investing in ten high-growth sectors to drive economic growth, job creation, and infrastructure development in the Gauteng City Region.

This brochure describes the Public Affairs Research Institute (PARI), a Johannesburg-based African research institute founded in May 2010. PARI focuses on research into constraints to effective governance, institutional design, and state-society relations to promote equitable policies and reduce poverty and inequality in South Africa and the global South.

The Public Affairs Research Institute (PARI) submitted a formal comment on the Public Procurement Bill 2023, arguing that while reforms are urgent, the current text contains significant constitutional hazards, excessive reliance on subordinate legislation, and gaps in transparency and integrity provisions.

This report by the Public Affairs Research Institute analyzes the financial and operational crisis facing South African municipal electricity distribution and proposes integrating existing rooftop solar PV and Battery Energy Storage Systems (BESS) as a pathway to reduce bulk costs and improve reliability.

The Transnet Inquiry Reference Book, authored by the Public Affairs Research Institute, provides a fact-based account of governance failures and systemic corruption at Transnet, South Africa's state-owned freight transport and logistics company. The report details how the company's governance was repurposed to facilitate large-scale corruption and rent-seeking, primarily benefiting the Gupta family and their associates through manipulated procurement processes for locomotives, cranes, and IT services.