Pilot Training Course for Kariba Local Authority, Zimbabwe:

In preparation for the commencement of the 2007 participatory budget process, the Municipality of Kariba in Zimbabwe requested for a participatory budgeting course for the council and all its key stakeholders. The Municipality had identified the PB Level One course being developed for Africa by the Municipal Development Partnership for Eastern and Southern Africa as a good source of capacity building. The course was delivered by Justus Mika, lead consultant for PB at MDP-ESA and it lasted for two days from August 17 to 18, 2006.

Justus Mika introducing the session on participatory
budgeting to the Kariba community

 The stated objectives of the course were to:

• Obtain basics of PB concepts- What is PB?

• Learn how to do PB- organization, budget performance review, implementation, review and monitoring processes.

• Learn best practices from the African region and the world on PB.

• Apply the PB concepts through group work

• Apply PB concepts to the crafting of the 2007 LA budget for Kariba.

The course was attended by 55 participants who included: the Mayor and Councillors, the Town Clerk and Senior Staff of the Municipality, representatives of civic groups who included: the Residents Associations, Informal Traders Associations, Women and youth groups, the Churches, ward committee representatives, the business community like Hoteliers Association, the education department and parastatals like Zimbabwe Electricity Power Corporation, the Zimbabwe Revenue Authority, representatives of political parties- the opposition MDC and the ruling ZANU-PF.

Some of the participants at the Kariba training workshop on participatory budgeting

As an approach the training was punctuated by group work on questions posed in the module at the end of each section. Participants were divided into working groups, with each of them working on a specific set of questions. For example; How are citizens of Kariba municipality involved in PB? What instruments are used to involve you in the LA budget? 

The outcomes of the training were encouraging as outlined below:

• Participants were grateful to the local authority for inviting them to the PB course.

• Participants indicated that they had obtained new insights into the nature of participatory budgeting and how it should be done.

• The local authority expressed gratitude to MDP-ESA for the course which they also stated had shed new light on PB processes. They would use this new knowledge and skills to improve upon their processes. They were also grateful to PACT for the financial and technical support accorded to them.

• Through a wide range of stakeholders, the local authority began its 2007 in a participatory manner and produced the first participatory draft guidelines for the budget.

• Greater rapport between the LA and its stakeholders was further widened as the participants found the exercise vital for information-sharing and priority setting.