Public Participation in Decision-making Processes: Concepts and Tools

Suphattanakul, Onuma

doi:10.26710/jbsee.v4i2.213

Cited by 4 publications

(2 citation statements)

References 10 publications

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“…Public participation is defined as the opportunity given to people who may be affected by or interested in a decision making process to be heard before taking final actions or decisions that affect their well-being using formal or informal channels of engagement (Lee & Sun, 2018). Governments and other institutions use public participation as a tool to gather citizens or customers to seek their views on issues in order to improve performance or meet public needs and expectations regarding income, security, and self-esteem (Suphattanakul, 2023). Literature shows different types of public participation engagements exist at different levels of beneficial outcomes and challenges.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Challenges of Public Participation in Solid Waste Management at Nkanfoa Landfill Site in the Cape Coast Municipality of Ghana

Kofi,

Kwame,

Kwabena

et al. 2023

JSD

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Public participation in waste management is considered a sustainable approach to waste management as such it should be embraced. In municipalities of developing countries like Ghana, public outcry over the wrong location of waste dumpsites and poor public interest in waste management has called for this study to understand how public participation contributes to efficiency in solid waste management. For those living close to waste dump sites, conditions including odour and smoke pollution are believed to be avoidable when the public participates in decision making on the location of waste dump sites. This study investigated challenges facing Nkanfoa community regarding their involvement in waste management decision making. A mixed method approach was used to gain an in-depth understanding of the challenges associated with public participation in solid waste management. The findings showed that the community members feel their concerns are not factored into the decision making process of the assembly as such a lack of trust between them and the municipal assembly. Also, there is the perception that political office holders interfere in public meetings and are not accountable to citizens hence the public apathy towards collective waste management decision making and their unwillingness to pay for waste services. The study concludes that for community participation in waste management to be effective, there should be online platforms for verification of the extent to which assemblies engage the public in collective decision making and this should be one criteria for allocating more common funds to district assemblies that perform well on this indicator.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Challenges of Public Participation in Solid Waste Management at Nkanfoa Landfill Site in the Cape Coast Municipality of Ghana

Kofi,

Kwame,

Kwabena

et al. 2023

JSD

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…It applies to other sectors as well, particularly in so far as decision-making is concerned. Suphattanakul (2018) defines public participation as a tool of the government to gather citizens or customers' information in order to increase performance and respond to their needs and expectations. It enhances both the security and the self-esteem of the citizens.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Accountability in the financial management practices of school principals

Dwangu

Mahlangu

2021

IJEM

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PurposeThe purpose of this article is to investigate the effectiveness of accountability mechanisms employed in financial management practices of school principals in the Eastern Cape Provincial Department of Education. The strengths and weaknesses of the systems and mechanisms of the processes to hold school principals accountable are explored in detail in this study. The argument that this article seeks to advance is that accountability of the school principal to the school governing body (SGB) does not yield the best results in terms of efficiency. It creates a loose arrangement in terms of which the school principal takes part in financial mismanagement in schools.Design/methodology/approachData collection was made through semi-structured interviews whose purpose was to draw experiences from SGBs, particularly the finance committees who are in fact the sub-committees of the SGBs; as well as literature review. The finance committee is made up of the chairperson of the SGB, the secretary of the SGB, the treasurer of the SGB, and the financial officer who is a clerk responsible for the keeping and the management of financial records of the school. The process started with semi-structured interviews, then transcribing, coding, developing themes, making meaning of the themes and subsequently developing a principle.FindingsMechanisms employed by schools and the Department of Education to hold principals accountable for their financial management practices fail to make them fully accountable and effectively face the consequences of acts on their part that are illegal and unlawful. The mechanisms need a great deal of overhauling. The argument that this article seeks to advance is that this account of the school principal to the SGB does not yield the best results in terms of efficiency. It creates a loose arrangement in terms of which the school principal easily gets away with a crime when financial mismanagement occurs in the school.Research limitations/implicationsParticipants could possibly not be comfortable and willing, to tell the truth as it is. Participants might have the fear that telling the truth could land them in trouble with the law. Whilst participants were assured by the researchers of their anonymity and the confidentiality of the information given by them, there was no guarantee that the fear of being exposed would subdue completely. There was also a possibility that some participants would not be willing to say the truth as it is for fear of being victimised by other participants for exposing the status quo in their schools.Practical implicationsThe findings and recommendations from this study may be used by the Department of Basic Education as a source of information for policymakers and stakeholders to understand the effectiveness of their mechanisms to ensure the accountability of school principals on issues of financial management. On the basis of this study, policymakers will then be able to revisit their policies for the purpose of strengthening them. The principal is therefore responsible for the day-to-day administration and management of school funds because of this mandatory delegation. However, when things go wrong, it is the SGB that is held liable.Social implicationsSchool principals hold dual accountability in terms of which they are accountable to the employer only in so far as their professional responsibilities are concerned on financial management in the first instance. They are by no means accounting officers in schools. In the second instance, they are fully accountable to the SGB for issues relating to financial management. Section 16A of SASA lists the functions and responsibilities for which the principal as an employee of the Department of Basic Education, and in his official capacity as contemplated in Sections 23(1) and 24(1) (j) of the same Act, is accountable to the head of department (HOD).Originality/valueThe study provides a theoretical and empirical contribution to the existing literature on the effectiveness of the mechanisms employed to ensure the accountability of school principals in their financial management practices in schools. It offers practical recommendations putting in place mechanisms that effectively hold school principals wholly accountable for their financial management practices in schools. Most of the time, it is easy for the principal to get away with a crime even in instances where he or she is called upon to account for alleged financial mismanagement.

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Practices and determinants of urban land governance in Sheger City, Ethiopia

Nigatu

2024

Front. Sustain. Cities

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While there have been numerous global discussions on urban land governance, a lot remains to be done and serious urban land related obstacles remain to be overcome. This article identifies the most important governance principles for improving land governance for urban development and growth. The governance principles assessed in this study include participation, responsiveness, efficiency, openness, rule of law, rule of ethics, completeness, innovation, sustainability, sound financial management, sound human rights and accountability. Source of primary data is 458 respondents selected using a multi-stage cluster sampling method from the six sub cities and secondary data was collected from policy documents and regional government reports. The governance level is measured by using seven point likert scale and the results reveal that the status of land governance in Sheger City is lower (3.445) than the average level which is 3.5 (50%). Out of the twelve independent variables, the mean score of only four, meaning innovation and openness to change (3.74), openness and transparency (3.68), competence and capacity (3.51), and rule of law (3.52), is more than 50%. The remaining eight variables are below the average, indicating poor land governance in Sheger City. Regarding the determinants, 76.21% of the variation in land governance in Sheger city is explained by the model applied. The highest beta value is registered for responsiveness, and the next highest is for innovation and openness to change. These findings have important implications for policymakers and urban planners in Ethiopia, highlighting the need for continued efforts to improve urban good governance and land management practices to ensure sustainable and equitable urban development.

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Public Participation in Decision-making Processes: Concepts and Tools

Cited by 4 publications

References 10 publications

Challenges of Public Participation in Solid Waste Management at Nkanfoa Landfill Site in the Cape Coast Municipality of Ghana

Challenges of Public Participation in Solid Waste Management at Nkanfoa Landfill Site in the Cape Coast Municipality of Ghana

Accountability in the financial management practices of school principals

Practices and determinants of urban land governance in Sheger City, Ethiopia

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