Abstract:
This paper examines citizen participation in local governance and development programs in Butaleja District of Uganda. The paper states that citizen participation is key to strengthening democracy and repositioning the local governments to meet the development challenges of the area. The sole purpose of decentralization is to bring required services nearer to the people and this can be achieved effectively through participatory mechanisms. As such, citizen participation in local governance will bring development programs closer to the people and encourage community initiatives and innovation. This paper highlights the concept of participation in the local government structure, rules, and regulations. The paper finds that the levels of participation are connected to political system openness, public value orientation among local managers, and civic organization effectiveness.
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