Abstract

Government annual budget is a public proclamation of its projected and actual expenditures which provide vital evidence of where a State sets its priorities Therefore this article seeks to show how the participatory budgeting offers citizens a large opportunity to learn about government operations and to deliberate debate and influence the allocation of public resources in the local government councils Through a descriptive historical analysis this study shows that the local government s current budget processes reveal that citizens have no understanding of what the local government council is committing itself to in its policy declarations and what it actually does in its budgetary allocations The extremely complicated technical and esoteric nature of the budget-making process and documents does not allow citizens to participate to have any say in it or to monitor the process it is the position of this paper that participatory budgeting programs are implemented at the behest of governments citizens nongovernmental organizations NGOs and civil society organizations CSOs to allow citizens to play a direct role in deciding how and where resources should be spent It is a tool for educating engaging and empowering citizens and strengthening demand for good governance It also enhanced transparency and accountability More so the study revealed that participatory budgeting helps reduce government inefficiency and curb clientelism patronage and corruption Besides recommending encouragement of citizen s participation in budgeting community-based organizations the civil society and the media should be involved and be stimulated to play the role of a conscience keeper on behalf of the poor and marginalized in the society