Section 17 of the Municipal Systems Act requires municipalities to put in place systems for communities to participate in the decision-making process.

These include:

• The process of receiving, processing and consideration of petitions
• Procedures for notifying the public of issues being considered by the council and a process that allows for public comment
• Procedures for public meetings and hearings by councillors and municipal officials
• Regular sharing of information on the state of affairs of the municipality through consultation with community organisations and traditional leaders.

Municipalities must ensure that people who cannot read or write, people with disabilities, women and other disadvantaged groups are able to participate in these processes.

Each municipality should also have a system for processing and responding to complaints about service problems.