Public participation forums for policy, legislative and other planning processes in Bungoma County in Kenya failed to reach a wide audience. Notifications were not adequately disseminated and due to limited resources they were held only at the sub-county level. Moreover, inefficiencies in the use of available resources further exacerbated non-participation of communities, and the forums did not include stakeholders from diverse political backgrounds but favoured the government.
The solution was
Low public participation and dissatisfaction with county government services created challenges in inclusion and effective program delivery. Through the project, several positive changes emerged:
DESECE started as a CBO in 1993 with DELTA, WINDOW, Civic Education (Human Rights, Peace and Reconciliation), Mainstreaming Gender, and HIV and Aids, and organic Agriculture as its main activities. Due to expanding needs DESECE now also implements Policy Dialogue, Reproductive Health, Community Library, Hospitality and Agro-ecology.