<![CDATA[Digital transformation, spatial planning and service delivery in the Global South remains a key focus of public administration scholarship. Yet, much of the literature examines governance challenges in a fragmented manner, overlooking interconnected institutional, technological, and socio-economic factors influencing e-participation. In South Africa, e-participation has emerged as a governance mechanism to enhance transparency, accountability, efficiency, and citizen engagement in municipal planning and decision-making. However, its implementation in rural municipalities unfolds in the shadow of a persistent digital divide. Despite supportive policy frameworks and digital inclusion initiatives, rural provinces such as Limpopo, the Eastern Cape, and KwaZulu-Natal experience barriers to effective e-participation. This study, grounded in Relative Deprivation Theory (RDT), examines how unequal access to digital resources reinforces feelings of exclusion among rural communities compared to better-connected urban populations. A qualitative methodology was adopted, using thematic content analysis. RDT has been embraced, which explains how feelings of exclusion in rural communities, compared with urban areas, perpetuate inequality. The findings reveal persistent constraints, including poor broadband connectivity, unreliable electricity supply, outdated digital infrastructure, high data costs, and limited access to ICT devices, particularly in rural communities. These challenges are compounded by gender and age disparities, with women, youth, and older persons facing greater exclusion from limited digital skills and language barriers. The study recommends strengthened investment in digital infrastructure, targeted community-based digital literacy programs, locally responsive e-participation models, and institutional reforms. It concludes that meaningful e-participation in rural municipalities can only be achieved by addressing deep-rooted structural and socio-economic digital inequalities. Keywords: Digital Divide, Digital Transformation, E-participation, Infrastructure and Rural Communities]]>
