Assessing Citizen Participation in Local Governance : The cases of the Bangalore Urban Poverty Alleviation Programme and the Angolan Citizens' Participation Initiative

Participatory strategies have not always yielded therequisite outcomes despite its importance. Over theyears, issues such as elite capture, inadequateinformation for actors and window dressing by policymakers have plagued this development tool. In thisregard, the paper reviews citizen participation usingtwo donor funded programmes in India and Angola.Also, it analyses specific concepts linked to citizeninvolvement in the design, planning andimplementation of programmes. Accordingly, the studyrevealed that both projects improved the lives ofpeople and met a range of needs such as establishmentof credit schemes, schools and electrificationexpansion projects. Nonetheless, there werechallenges such as the low level of capacity ofcitizens and local bodies as well as lack ofcoordination of institutional actors. Despite themerits, participation ought not to be mandatory butused selectively. Additionally, it brought to lightthe significance of local government in communitydevelopment and the need to equip it with human andfinancial resources. This book is therefore a mustread for policy makers, development experts, non-governmental actors, academics and students