Participatory Development: A Myth or reality?

Abstract

Participatory development is now a catchword in development literature and practice, Government, donor agencies; NGOs and the World Bank emphasize empowering local communities so that they can effectively participate in their development practice.  The assumption is that if local communities are involved then the sustainability of the process is assured because the communities concerned will cultivate a sense of ownership and hence confidence to safeguard the gains achieved.  This looks unproblematic.  On the surface it simply means changing the top-down commandist approach, which has been blamed for economic and political problems that have dogged development in the developing countries.  The reality however is that the process is more complex as it touches on power relations including changing earlier tags and ethnocentric outlooks that have classified some as developers and others as passive, ignorant and conservative that needs to be developed.  This article argues that participatory development is transformative for all.  It involves change in the subjects of development who are often treated as passive into conscious and active participants on the one hand,  and the  experts who think they can teach the subjects how to develop to accept and there is local knowledge and expertise that is useful, on the other.  The achievement of this has been logged by problems that are both conceptual and of a status quo nature.  This article uses recent data from participatory development interventions in same District, Kilimanjaro Region of Tanzania, to show the complexities involved in planning for development, with the view to suggesting how best to manage collaboration among all the stakeholders.