Download or read book Civil Society and the Zuma Government written by Yvette Geyer and published by African Books Collective. This book was released on 2009 with total page 50 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A healthy democracy needs a government that understands that it has to share some of its power with civil society, the realm in which citizens acquire a voice, enabling them to ensure that government responds to their needs and is accountable to them in an ongoing representative manner beyond the ballot box. The public debate on whether there are centralist impulses evident in the ANC as the dominant electoral force raises questions about the nature of democracy and the state of South Africa. Is there a danger of government distinguishing between development and democracy and acting as if they are mutually exclusive? African democracy institute Idasa and the International Development Research Centre held a roundtable discussion, of which this publication is the result, on the role of civil society, the areas of involvement for civil society, the policy recommendations to be made and areas of research need to be explored.