Introduction:
Public participation is changing in Kwale County. The County is slowly moving away from a culture of citizens turning up to forums and listening to the priorities of the County Government to a culture where communities are proactively proposing, influencing and tracking development priorities throughout the County planning and budgeting processes. This shift is phenomenal, especially for women and vulnerable groups who have traditionally been excluded from public participation processes. Previous research on Gender Responsive Budgeting (GRB) in Kwale highlighted low participation of women in budget discussions, limited access to County budget documents, low awareness of GRB and limited engagement between citizens and their representatives. Further, the female literacy rate in the County is recorded to be approximately 47.4% which contributed to social and cultural barriers to participation (Kwale County Government, 2018).
It is against this background that Kwale County, working with civil society and community structures, has strengthened how citizens are prepared, engaged and connected to decision-making at the County. This has led to not only change in public participation, but also in written community proposals, budget allocations, projects and greater involvement of women and vulnerable groups in decisions affecting them. Below is a highlight of exemplary practices from Kwale County that demonstrate how public participation is becoming more meaningful and translating into tangible results for communities.
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