The municipal ward committees and IDP Representative Forums are the arenas within which integrated development planning takes place, the end-results are IDP documents that have to be reviewed annually to incorporate social learning, emerging priorities and new resource opportunities. The key assumption is that decisions on development are more viable, effective and sustainable when the people they affect are integrally part of the decision-making - and the implementation - process. This article examines the variety of channels and processes for public participation in the integrated development planning (IDP) processes in the Limpopo Province. It also focuses on the policy and legislative framework underpinning public participation in the IDP processes. Legislation requires that the IDP process should structurally incorporate the voice of communities affected by planning. It is expected that participation in local development plannin