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.
2 Feb. 07