People in decision making |02 September 2004
Run by the Municipal Development Partnership (MDP) organisation, the research projects are being conducted, in the east African region, in Seychelles, Namibia and Mozambique, with backing from the World Bank.
Principal research officer for the local project, Helene Maîche, said that the research is being carried out under the banner, "Citizens at the heart of government."
"People at central level all too often decide on budgeting, but it should be a bottom up approach," said Mrs Maîche at the recent launch of the task force which will examine the role of the general public in determining government policy.
With members drawn from NGOs, local government and political parties the research started Wednesday and is scheduled to end on October 30, after which a follow up workshop will draw together the findings for submission to the MDP for its inclusion in a regional report.
An initial outline of the proposed project has been submitted to the Ministry of Local Government, Sports and Culture, which gave it the green light, although the final report will have no binding power over government decision making.
A similar project has already been conducted in South America.