BAWKU PRESENTATIOM-THE ROLE OF CITIZENS IN LOCAL GOVERNANCE-2
1. BAWKU LIBRARY BASEMENT
ON 25TH AUGUST 2016
By
Afayak Limatu
THE ROLE OF CITIZENS IN SOCIAL
ACCOUNTABILIT
AT
2. Presentation Outline
• Background
• Objective
• Social accountability briefly
• Government
• Lessons learnt as a result of government
• Generally the challenges
• Who are citizens
• Who are role players
• The steps of citizen in ensuring social
accountability
3. Introduction
In a democracy, the provision of public goods & services is a
social contract between citizens and duty bearers.
The citizens have the right to demand for effective, efficient
and equitable service delivery.
One way of doing this is through social accountability
mechanisms/strategies
These strategies include Social Public Expenditure and
Financial Accountability forums, town hall meetings, and
citizen score cards.
Social Public expenditure and financial accountability (SPEFA)
attempts to promote transparency in public service delivery.
4. Introduction Cont.
The overall aim of SPEFA project is to
improve citizen’s perception of urban
management and increase their
engagement with the metropolitan and
municipal assemblies across the country
5. Objectives
• Participants:
– know and understand why civil society must
organise social accountability forums.
– know when and how to engage with duty bearers
for enhanced social accountability.
– are equip with communication and negotiation
skills for enhance social accountability.
– are expose to factors that can inhibit CSO in their
quest for social accountability
6. SOCIAL ACCOUNTABILITY
Social Accountability:
is not a privilege for civil society organizations and citizens
it is a right citizens to actively participate in development
decisions that affects them.
it is also important because monies mobilized through
taxes/rates are being used to provide public services.
And so citizens have the right:
to be heard
to information
to organize
to participate in decisions/development
7. What is Local Government
Local government refers to specific
institutions or entities created by national
constitutions or ordinary legislation of a
higher level of central government or other
levels of governmental units to deliver a
range of specified services to a relatively
small geographically delineated area.
8. 1. Many local Government bodies set up before 1988 were
not democratic and hence not participatory
2. Some of them became road blocks to achieving effective
decentralization and Local Government
3. Though functions were transferred no means and in some
cases competencies were transferred to the local
Government bodies
4. There was lack of political Authority to overseer the
decentralized structures
9. Challenges of local government
• low development capacity,
• weak resource and revenue base
• poor financial Administration, and corruption,
lack of technical expertise
• poor quality staff, poor remuneration,
• unclear delineation of functions between local
Government and Central Government.
10. Who are citizens
• A person who legally belongs to a country and has
the rights and protection of that country or a
person who lives in a particular place. Source:
Merriam-Webster's
11. WHO ARE ROLE PLAYERS/CSOs
They are persons, groups, organizations or institutions
with direct interest in a policy, programme, project
or activity
• Types of role players
1.key-role players-highly affected groups with interest
2. Primary role players- intrest is high but not key
3. Secondary role-players-intermediary in the process
However, the dwelling and working populance in the
municipality are the most highly affected people and
not the public officials who might be coming outside
the MA so decisions for developmental agenda and
projects require the involvement of the local
community to make it meaniful
12. Steps to promoting social accountability
Mobilize and build sustainable coalitions
with common purpose
16. EXERCISE
PROCESS:
1. Put participants into two groups
2. First group identify stakeholders within the
government sector
3. Second group identify stakeholders within the civil
society
4. Their role in achieving good governance
5. Second Group go into a session of lobbying the
government sector for developmental project (most
prioritize by group) in their community or MA
17. • Ask participants to write down the role,
interest contributions and effects on flipchart
for plenary presentation.
• NB: Answeres should be presented in concise
manner
