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The Konrad‑Adenauer‑Stiftung (KAS), in cooperation with the Organisation Undoing Tax Abuse (OUTA), successfully hosted the Capstone Civil Society and Parliament Symposium on 17 November 2025, marking the culmination of a series of engagements aimed at strengthening democratic oversight and public participation in South Africa.
The symposium brought together representatives from Parliament, provincial legislatures, civil society organisations (CSOs), community movements, research institutions, and oversight bodies to reflect on lessons learned from previous dialogues held in November 2024 and October 2025. Building on this two‑year process, participants focused on moving beyond ad hoc engagement toward structured, institutionalised collaboration between Parliament and civil society.
Discussions highlighted persistent challenges confronting meaningful participation, including fragmented engagement processes, weak feedback loops, limited integration of civil society evidence into committee work, digital exclusion, and capacity constraints within legislatures. At the same time, participants acknowledged the growing appetite on both sides, for more transparent, predictable, and trust‑based forms of cooperation, particularly in the context of coalition governance and declining public trust in democratic institutions.
Key thematic priorities emerging from the symposium included the need to embed public participation within oversight processes, strengthen evidence‑based lawmaking, expand accessible and multilingual engagement mechanisms, and improve the use of digital tools to track public submissions and oversight follow‑up. Participants also emphasised the importance of capacity‑building for both MPs and CSOs, and of developing clear accountability mechanisms that demonstrate how public input informs parliamentary outcomes.
The symposium concluded with a shared commitment to advancing a Six‑Point Action Framework focused on institutionalising collaboration, standardising public participation processes, strengthening research and analytical capacity, improving digital inclusion, and enhancing performance monitoring within legislatures. These outcomes reflect a collective shift from participation as a procedural requirement to partnership as a sustained democratic practice.
The event reaffirmed KAS South Africa’s commitment to supporting accountable, transparent, and inclusive parliamentary governance, and to fostering civil society as a constructive partner in strengthening South Africa’s constitutional democracy.
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