MDPESA Pilot Training Workshop on Participatory Budgeting in Africa: Ruwa, 30 June 2007

Aide Memoire and Program | List of Participants | Proceedings Report

The pilot training program in Ruwa was held from 31 May - 1 June 2007 . The workshop was attended by more than Sixty (60) participants who included officials from Ruwa Local Board, councilors from Ruwa, representatives of the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe, the Ministry of Local Government Public Works and Urban Development, the Urban Councils Association of Zimbabwe, other local authorities in Zimbabwe including Mutoko Rural District Council, Chitungwiza, Epworth Local Board and Goromonzi Rural District Council. Also present were business people and civic organizations from Ruwa.

The pilot training program was well received by the invited participants with all of them unanimously agreeing that Council should pass a resolution in favor of the adoption and practicing of participatory budgeting in Ruwa. This has already has been done.

Emerging Issues from the Pilot

Most of the benefits of participatory budgeting that are contained in the companion were well appreciated by the wide cross section of the stakeholders who attended the workshop. In particular, from the plenary discussions it was observed that:

• Participatory budgeting promises to be the tool to bring stakeholders to work together towards sustainable development. The implementer, that is Local Government officials, should lead the process while integrating participation by all stakeholders into the process. Local Government officials should be committed to participatory budgeting implementation and provide regular feedback to stakeholders. The officials should seek for information and capacity building so that they are efficient and effective in participatory budgeting process; and
  
• Participatory budgeting has the potential to benefit Ruwa beyond good governance, since the resultant improved service delivery will be used to support the application for town status already submitted to the Ministry of local government, Public Works and Urban Development.

It was also commended that the pilot workshop had gone a long way in assisting with the development of a strong foundation on which Participatory budgeting will be integrated and institutionalized by Local Governments not only in Zimbabwe , but other parts of Africa . Learning from best practices of other Local Governments was seen also as key in promoting and further enhancing participatory budgeting in Africa . It was therefore agreed that Local Governments should make use of both internal and external trainers and facilitators to create effective participatory budgeting implementation strategies.

However a number of constraints and challenges to the initiation and implementation of the exercise were also raised. In particular it was pointed out that confrontation and negative criticism; the failure by councilors to separate civic from political issues and the non existence of proper conflict management and resolution mechanisms posed serious challenges in the implementation of participatory budgeting in Ruwa since they hinder effective stakeholder cooperation. There was therefore need for participants to come up with effective ways to deal with these negative influences.

Concerning the general content of some sections of the training companion itself, it was pointed out that there was a need to pay more attention on the problems of traditional budgeting given that citizens do not even know much about the old budgeting processes. Highlighting the problems associated with the traditional budgeting process, it was argued, will prepare the background and platform for launching the "new" participatory budgeting process. It was indicated that it would also help if the differences between the two can be presented in tabular form for a quick snap shot and appreciation of the differences. In addition the following were also highlighted and include the need to:

• Develop a summarized version of the training Companion, which will be easier to use as a quick guide or reference;
  
• Have vernacular language version of the training Companion so as to reach all sections of the community and to improve on participation by all stakeholders; and
  
• Clarify which stage comes first between allocation of resources and coming up with estimates.

Lastly on the section on how to start the participatory budgeting process, participants pointed out that this was not clearly elaborated from the case studies cited in the training companion. In particular, they argued that on how to begin or start the participatory budgeting process or putting it into practice, it should be clearly enunciated or shown how the process began in the case studies cited in the training companion.