Abstract
This study was carried out in Nakasongola Town Council, Nakasongola District
in the Central paii of Uganda. This study explored the effectiveness of
participatory planning in decentralized development in the provision of services
in Nakasongola Town Council. Under the Local Government Act 1997,
participatory planning was adopted as an approach that encourages participation
and involvement of all key stakeholders in development planning and
implementation. The Local Government Act 1997 mandates village, parish
executive committees to initiate, encourage, support and participate in self-help
projects, mobilize people, materials and technical assistance and to monitor
projects and other activities by Government, Local Governments and Non
Governmental Organizations. ·
With the effectiveness of decentralized development in view of poverty
reduction under question, it is not clear whether or not participatory planning
has added value to local development in terms of service delivery. To respond
to this knowledge gap, the study aimed at deepening the understanding of
participation in planning as an approach to decentralized local governance
service delivery. The central question the study asked is, I-low effective
participatory plam1ing in the provision of services in Nakasongola Town
Council is.
Data collection was triangulated using interviews, individual questionnaire, and
Focus group discussion. Respondents were selected using stratified random
sampling method and they included Nakasongola Town Council staff,
Councillors, Local Council leaders I and II, Parish Development Committee
members and community beneficiaries. From the data analysis, it was found out
that participatory planning in Nakasongola Town Council could be clustered as
community participation in Local Government planning process, effectiveness
of participatory planning in identifying community priority needs and
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challenges associated with participatory planning. The Harmonized
Participatory Planning guide provides a framework for participatory bottom-up
planning on participatory investment decision making and resource allocation so
that Local Councils at Parish/Ward, village/cell are more responsive to the
needs of the electorates hence promoting decentralized governance service
delivery.
It can be concluded that, although participatory planning is being implemented
in Local Governments, community empowerment in participatory planning process is essential for more involvement of the community in the planning process. The study therefore came up with the following recommendation; that community empowerment in the planning process should be of paramount importance and their involvement should not only stop at priority identification but rather they should be involved at all stages of the planning process which is priority identification, planning, implementation and monitoring of the projects for effective governance service delivery.
MOLLY, O (2021). Effectiveness Of Participatory Planning In The Provision Of Service Delivery Case Study: Nakasongola Town Council. Afribary. Retrieved from https://track.afribary.com/works/effectiveness-of-participatory-planning-in-the-provision-of-service-delivery-case-study-nakasongola-town-council
MOLLY, OKETAYOT "Effectiveness Of Participatory Planning In The Provision Of Service Delivery Case Study: Nakasongola Town Council" Afribary. Afribary, 10 Jun. 2021, https://track.afribary.com/works/effectiveness-of-participatory-planning-in-the-provision-of-service-delivery-case-study-nakasongola-town-council. Accessed 08 Sep. 2024.
MOLLY, OKETAYOT . "Effectiveness Of Participatory Planning In The Provision Of Service Delivery Case Study: Nakasongola Town Council". Afribary, Afribary, 10 Jun. 2021. Web. 08 Sep. 2024. < https://track.afribary.com/works/effectiveness-of-participatory-planning-in-the-provision-of-service-delivery-case-study-nakasongola-town-council >.
MOLLY, OKETAYOT . "Effectiveness Of Participatory Planning In The Provision Of Service Delivery Case Study: Nakasongola Town Council" Afribary (2021). Accessed September 08, 2024. https://track.afribary.com/works/effectiveness-of-participatory-planning-in-the-provision-of-service-delivery-case-study-nakasongola-town-council