How to hold local government accountable | Paul Smith

In this interview Paul Smith, the Head of Local Governance at Kagiso Trust, talks to Chris Steyn about the launch of the #StartWhereYouAre Playbook, the anchor tool of its nationwide #StartWhereYouAre active citizenship and voter education campaign leading up to the 2026 Local Government Elections. He describes how the playbook can be a tool for shifting the relationship between citizens and their government from passive acceptance to active engagement. The practical guide shows South Africans exactly how to move from wanting to participate to exactly what they can do. The playbook uses a comic-strip format with relatable characters and everyday scenarios to demonstrate the citizen action cycle: Notice → Understand → Report → Organise → Follow up.”We have to think carefully about how we sever the incestuous relationship between administration and politics. We have to break the link between those who have got to deliver and those who have to do oversight… Once we have a government in place, it's no longer worth moaning. It's about how we work with that government and start creating the future we desire as a collective.”