can be attributed to the fact that the South African government is open to public criticism and it often is the first one to criticize its own performance in public platforms including through the often hard-hitting reports of the Auditor-General, performance monitoring and evaluation reports and in public engagements. Government’s use of the media, both private and public, has remained strong. This ranges from public communication and engagement in public debates by ensuring that government officials are enthusiastically involved in public discourses through the media, explaining government positions to the public and enabling a culture of balanced debates to the use of the new media in the form of social media portals. Facebook and twitter profiles of The Presidency and several departments are among the highest subscribed in South Africa today and these convey government information on a daily basis. The government websites remain a major source for stories in the media. Despite these challenges, the media in its variety, in particular, has remained an important pillar of support for public participation. For instance, the increase in community radio stations and television broadcasting in line with constitutional provisions of access to information helps many communities to be up to date with the politics of their surroundings as well as the spaces that are available for their participation. Provincial and municipal governments make an extensive use of community and vernacular radio stations to communicate and discuss matters relating to government programmes with people through phone-in programmes in their own languages. 3.1.2 Public Consultation, education and feedback in policy making The Constitution of South Africa has provisions which make public participation obligatory within all spheres of government to enhance democratic governance. Increasing participation by civil society structures in policy development, implementation including monitoring and evaluation of government performance is a reflection that they are increasingly becoming knowledgeable about their rights and can therefore hold government accountable. The increase in the number of civil society structures such as ward committees, School Governing Bodies (SGBs), indicates improvement in the role of civil society in governance processes. The implementation of government programmes creates a compulsory requirement for government departments not only to consult the citizens but also provide feedback on the achievement of the articulated objectives. In terms of the White Paper on Batho Pele, all government departments have an obligation to generate Citizen Feedback Reports on an annual basis. Even though such reports are developed for compliance purposes, they do provide access to information on government programmes required for public participation and enhancement of governance. The institutionalization of standard capacity development programmes amongst civil society structures is aimed at improving governance processes. This builds on initiatives involving the intensified implementation of the Intergovernmental Relations Framework and the utilization of the Thusong community service centers to ensure improved, accessible and efficient delivery of government services. The Department of Public Service and Administration (DPSA) continues to play a critical role in ensuring that the Thusong service centers are connected to information and communications technologies so that walk-in 37