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African leaders urged to introduce
participatory budgeting into local government
Accra, Feb. 2, GNA - The introduction of participatory
budgeting into participatory governance could be a panacea
to most developmental problems faced by African countries,
Mr George Matovu of the Municipal Development Programme for
Eastern and South Africa said on Friday.
Speaking during a video conferencing programme for the
seventh edition of the Africa Local Government Action Forum
(ALGAF) for seven African English-speaking countries, he
said participatory budgeting would increase public
accountability; reduce corruption and bureaucratic sclerosis
with better inputs for public policies.
"For others, participation is a fundamental right that
stands at the centre of democratic governance and human
development."
Mr Matovu was speaking on "The Challenges and Constraints of
Introducing Participatory Budgeting as a Tool for Resource
Mobilization and Allocation and Realizing Good Governance in
Africa" to participants from Ghana, Ethiopia, Kenya, Rwanda,
Tanzania, Uganda and Zimbabwe though a videoconference.
The World Bank supported the programme.
Mr Matovu defined participatory budgeting as a process
whereby communities worked together with elected
representatives and officials to develop policies and
budgets in order to meet the needs of the community.
Citing Brazil as a place where participatory budgeting had
been implemented, he said it had expanded citizenship;
empowered excluded members of society; redefined rights;
deepened democracy and stimulated civil society; all of
which Africa needed in deepening democracy.
He said although research was still underway to fully
understand the benefits and impact of participatory
budgeting, it had the potential to benefit various
stakeholders and public administration as a whole.
Mr Matovu said participatory budget could only function if
there was a mechanism, which could facilitate free
interaction between local government functionaries and the
community and effectively handle the successes, limitations
and challenges associated with the introduction of the
system.
He called on governments to think through the concept before
introducing it in their local government systems to ensure
that all the stages were carefully planned and executed.
Mr Kwasi Ameyaw-Cheremeh, General Secretary of National
Association of Local Authorities of Ghana, said the concept
of participatory budgeting had already taken off in some
district assemblies in Ghana such as Suhum and was bringing
tremendous benefits to the District, since projects were
never executed even from government without the involvement
of the local communities.
He said the concept would take time to be embraced by all
communities due to issues such as apathy, illiteracy and the
need to build capacity for effective participation.
He also advocated a strong political will from the
Government, supported by an enabling legal framework for it
to work.
GNA
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