The Contribution of Participants Representativeness at Citizen Fora on Equity in Resource Allocation by County Governments of Kenya

Public participation is an essential governance principle and a requirement for sustainable development. It has gained widespread appeal both globally and in Kenya since the passing of the Constitution of Kenya 2010. Some of the goals for conducting public participation in resource allocation include equity, efficiency, and effectiveness amongst other desirable outcomes. However, whether a given public participation forum will achieve any of these outcomes depends in part on whether the participants who attend such forums in terms genuinely represent the voices and concerns of the wider community which was the focus of this study. The study used a survey design with the members of the public who had taken part in public forums organized by county governments forming the study population for the budget making process. 491 respondents who were selected through multi-stage sampling procedure filled questionnaires while 27 county government officers were interviewed using an interview guide. The data was analysed using both descriptive and inferential statistics. The findings show that participants representativeness, has a positive and significant influence on equity in resource allocation by county governments in Kenya. The study recommends that county governments rethink their modes of invitation and mobilization to ensure that the values and priorities of the wider community and its diversity are represented in the consultation fora. This will ensure that views presented at such forums are to be useful in guiding the county authorities to allocate resources in ways that reflect intra county equity.