EFFECTS OF PARTICIPATORY BUDGET PRACTICE ON ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT IN RURAL COMMUNITIES OF EBONYI STATE: FOCUS ON DEVELOPMENT CENTERS OF EBONYI STATE

Abstract

The study examined the effects of Participatory Budget Practices on Economic Development in the rural communities of Ebonyi State: Focus on the Development Centers of Ebonyi State. Four research questions guided the study. The design was a descriptive survey while the population of the study is made up of 167 Development Centers key Players (DCKPs) and 300 Rural Communities Stakeholders (RCS) as explained in the methodology of this study. Instrument for data collection was self structured questionnaire which was distributed through the help of three staff of the Development Centers, one from each Senatorial Zone. The instrument was validated by two experts from Faculty of Management Science of Ebonyi State University, Abakaliki. Cronbache’s alpha was used to correlate the 50 copies of the instruments distributed on two weeks interval to staffers of Local Government service Commission and Ministry of Local Government and Chieftaincy Matters of Ebonyi State. It yielded alpha of 0.83 correlation co-efficient. The data collected from the four questionnaires were analyzed using mean and Standard Deviation, while t-test of difference was used to test the null hypotheses at 0.05 level of significance. The findings of the study revealed among other things that arranging for public hearing and meetings for citizens to make input, creating avenues for rural dwellers platform for feedback during budget implementation; community outreach/mobilization and appointing community representatives in budget committee could lead to improve in the provision of portable water to the rural dwellers in Ebonyi State. The study recommended that Local Government should always engage the citizens in the budgetary process to allow them present their most pressing needs such as provision of portable water to the rural dwellers; Local Government should enforce transparency approaches in the process of budgeting to enable the citizens to effectively participate on the process. This could help the stakeholders of the communities. The findings of this study has shown that participatory budget could improved economic development at the rural communities of Ebonyi State to high extent visa-viz provision of portable water to the rural dwellers, quality education, improved electricity supply and employment opportunities to the rural communities of Ebonyi state. These have definite implications on the local government, the rural dwellers and the policy makers. It then means that if the stakeholders of the rural communities are given opportunities to participate in planning the development of their areas they could present the major challenges facing them to be included in the budget.