Whose Voice Counts? Inclusivity in Participatory Budgeting for Climate Change Adaptation in Makueni County

Abstract

Devolution provides an opportunity for social, political and economic empowerment through distribution of power, resources and decision-making. Meaningful participation means not only participating in identification of priorities but also sharing of the development outcomes. There has been numerous studies on the impact of devolution and public participation on local economic development, however, there is need to study the nexus between participatory budgeting and climate change adaptation. The objective of this paper is therefore to study inclusivity in participatory budgeting and how it influences climate change adaptation measures. The study will be anchored on Deliberative Democracy Theory and key elements in the study will include assessing whose voice is prioritized or marginalized in the climate change adaptation decision making. It will also explore how decisions on climate change initiatives are made considering power dynamics. The study will apply qualitative approach, and purposive sampling will be applied supplemented by snowball sampling. Four rural wards will be purposively selected and four Focus Group Discussions targeting farmer group, youth group, persons with disabilities and water resource group (1 FGD per ward). Data collected through 3 - 4 key informant interviews amongst civil societies and government officials in sectors affected by climate change and citizens who have attended participatory budgeting forums. In conclusion, the study will address policy issues such as the threshold of public participation, the legitimacy of the process, mechanisms of removing the barriers for participation and the necessary institutional capacity to translate participatory budgeting outputs into climate change adaptation measures.