The formalised structures for public participation in Cape Agulhas are five ward committees which consist of ten members each and the Cape Agulhas Municipal Advisory Forum (CAMAF). The ward committees are chaired by the ward councillor and CAMAF by the Executive Mayor.

Ward committee meetings are held every month and members of the public are welcome to attend the meetings. Members of the public can request a turn to speak if they want to give input during ward committee meetings. Council ensures that ward committee members are well informed on their mandate by providing training on a regular basis and input from ward committees are reflected in Council and Mayoral Committee resolutions.

CAMAF consists of two representatives of each ward committee as well as representatives from other spheres of government and different sectors. The CAMAF has a strong Cape Agulhas focus. This forum provides a mechanism for discussions and negotiations between all interested and affected parties concerning community and other issues to provide input in the IDP process.

5 Ward meetings with the wards at large, a total of 12 IDP ward committee meetings and 2 CAMAF meetings were held to receive inputs from the community and to discuss IDP issues. Each ward submitted a priority list of projects as summarised in chapter 4 to be considered for implementation in the 2009/2010 financial year.

The CAMAF meetings were attended by representatives of various sector departments, interest and community groups who made presentations of their activities and needs. Another CAMAF meeting was held to inform the stakeholders of the various priorities of the different wards that will be considered for the 2009/2010 budget.

Further input from the community in the IDF' process was obtained through mayoral imbizo's which were held, as well as written comments that were received.

Other public participation mechanisms include quarterly ward meetings and monthly ward committee meetings chaired by the elected ward councillors to discuss issues of concern in a particular ward and to give input into Council's agenda.

The quarterly ward meetings are normally very productive because of the number of participants that attend. Regular invites to the broader municipal interest groups to participate and comment on issues of concern and interest are published on a weekly basis in the local and other newspapers. It is found that, depending on the matter at hand, interest groups will respond in numbers while other issues will attract less participation from the community.