Participatory Budgeting

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Kenyans setting the agenda

One of the citizens’ demands during the Change initiative’s citizen’s forums was to ensure citizens involvement in the devolved government as provided for by the new constitution in Kenya and consequently to enable citizens to be able to determine their own development path.  Fahamu has taken up this challenge and, working with community activists, are implementing a Participatory Budgeting (PB) project.

Fahamu seeks to adapt and localize existing models to ensure that the focus is ‘people centered’ as opposed to ‘structure centered’.

Fahamu aims through this project to create a citizen led process that shifts the balance of power and decision making from a select few government officials to the people and by doing so, create a replicable model for people-centered democratization of Kenya’s economic life.

PB goes beyond alternative budgets and beyond traditional consultation mechanisms; PB is a priority setting and decision-making process. It is about ordinary citizens making real decisions about public monies.

Using direct democracy and consensus building methodologies, Fahamu will work with community activists and existing social movements in Kiambu and Kwale counties over the next two years to spearhead the participatory budgeting process.

Emerging Powers Updates

PROJECT OBJECTIVE AND SCOPE

  • To build the capacity of local communities to take part in the allocation of local resources and participate in priority setting while engaging in continued monitoring and advocacy;

  • To amplify community voices in decision-making;

  • To re-activate grassroots democratic culture and civic engagement;

  • To develop sustainable synergies between governments and citizens to enhance transparency and accountability.

PROJECT CONSTITUENCY AND PARTNERS:

Participatory Budgeting is a process through which citizens have an unprecedented opportunity to set development priorities, decide on the agenda and monitor spending in their communities.  Beyond budgetary tracking, participatory budgeting (PB) is a process through which the population decides on the destination of all or part of the available public resources.

PB directly involves citizens in making decisions on the spending and priorities for a defined public budget. It is a way to involve local citizens in decision-making that is more in-depth and meaningful than traditional consultation processes. This means engaging residents and community groups who represent a diverse cross section of the community to make spending proposals based on the interests of the people, and democratically decide on budgetary allocations.  Further the process provides the citizenry with a role in the scrutiny and monitoring of the process and results to inform subsequent decisions on an annual or regular basis.  In simple terms, participatory budgeting as is envisaged by Fahamu is a formula for the people to take the power into their hands.

Movements and partners the project is working with include:

a) Kajiado County in partnership with Kajiado Voices Forum

Kajiado Voices Forum believes in change, provisions of the new constitution, aspiring to lead and bring about change and be the voice of reason in all matters of the Kajiado County, through awareness creation, empowerment of communities, ensuring environmental integrity. It seeks to empower the residents of Kajiado County with information and knowledge in drive to self-determination.

 

b) Kwale County in partnership with Msambweni Human Rights Watch

Msambweni Human Rights Watch is a network of human rights defenders who have been steadfast in agitating for the rights of landless and marginalised members of the community in Kwale County and seeks to create a society that respects and promotes human rights and the wholesome development of the marginalised.

 

c) Makueni County in partnership with Mamamwiki Links Society

Mamamwiki Links Society’s mission is to empower the local communities in particular women and youths to realise their full potential through civic education especially on devolution, human rights, citizens participation in policy making and budget making among others.

 

d) Kakamega County in partnership with National Youth Sector Alliance

The National Youth Sector Alliance seeks to create a society where policy and legislative making processes involve the meaningful participation of all, young people included without any discrimination, led by a value-based leadership to create a responsive citizenry.

 

e) Kisumu County in partnership with Endelevu Community Development Services

Endelevu Community Development Services envisions a healthy, just and self-reliant society through capacity building, water and sanitation, economic empowerment, gender and development, health, and environmental conservation.

PROJECT ACHIEVEMENTS

PB has ensured ownership and participation of citizens in the governance process. The following are some of the successes:

  • Through PB, small networks at the grassroots level in the above metnioned counties have been strengthened; networks which had potential but otherwise would not have been able to influence change without the necessary support;

  • Through the PB project, county governments and supporting structures are finding strategies to further involve citizens, knowing that they are being kept on check thus the need for their transparency and accountability;

  • The development priorities that have been identified by citizens are currently the basis on which county governments are initiating development projects in the implementing counties;

  • Citizens have developed and also pushed these governments to develop policies that will enhance citizen participation as well as ensure sustainability of the same. Case example is the development of the Citizen Participation Bill/Policy;

  • The PB process is gaining momentum all over the country. Other counties, borrowing from the implementing counties, have begun to follow suit;

  • The Kajiado Voices Forum, Fahamu’s implementing partner in Kajiado County has developed the Kajiado Youth Policy to address youth unemployment, one of the leading development need in almost all counties. This was realised during identification and prioritisation of needs.

Download Simplified Kwale Budget PDF

 

Download Simplified Makueni BudgetPDF

In the budget process, county governments in Kenya produce voluminous documents for consumption targeting various stakeholders. More often than not, the common citizen gets lost as too much focus is shifted to the power brokers and those considered wielding state influence. The need for a citizen’s budget at the county level is critical as the opinion shapers are the citizens.

A Citizen’s Budget is a non-technical presentation of the government budget, which is aimed at enabling the public to follow the government’s agenda as determined by the available public resources. It also provides an opportunity for citizens to monitor and evaluate implementation of these budgets thus providing a way of encouraging ordinary people to participate in governance. The Citizen’s Budget is designed to present key public finance information to a general audience in an accessible language and incorporate visual elements to help non-specialist readers to understand the information.

This is the path that Fahamu has undertaken, under the Participatory Budgeting project, to set precedence for county governments to provide the same in future budget processes.

The Citizen’s Budget is for Kenyans and we hope it will contribute to achieving the desired full citizen participation that is guaranteed by the constitution of Kenya.

The Makueni and Kwale Counties Simplified Citizens’ Budgets for the Financial Year 2015/2016 are now ready!

Fahamu Africa

Physical address:

Block C, 3rd Floor, Peponi Plaza, Westlands, Nairobi, Kenya

Postal address:
PO Box 47158, 00100 GPO
Nairobi, Kenya

Tel +254 20 3749346/+254 20 3749347

For any queries, contact: [email protected]

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