By Umamah Bakharia

The Rivonia Circle has called on South Africans to come together to fight corruption and tackle poor service delivery.

Former Business Day editor and chairperson of the Rivonia Circle, Songezo Zibi told residents at a town hall event in East London, that it was important for communities to be actively involved in decision-making that affects their lives.

Speaking to Radio Islam, Songezo Zibi says communities should demand information from their local municipalities to better operate.

‘The Rivonia Circle’ is a non-profit organisation that was formed this year, to help South African policy developments and democratic engagements.

“One of the things we emphasize is that democratic accountability is an everyday exercise,” he says.

The organisation recently had a town hall meeting in Buffalo, East London where residents voiced concern over the continued lack of service delivery and corruption.

“The first thing is for people to be plugged into their local communities structures because that is where you can come together as citizens and exact the accountability that you need,” says Zibi.

He adds: “We have to deepen democratic participation so that we can have a better system overall and better outcomes.”