ABSTRACTThis study was undertaken toassess the Effect of Democratic Participation, and Funding on Service Delivery in Selected Local Government Areas of Katsina State, Nigeria. After a prolonged spell of military administration, Nigeria is at last back to a democracy. An ideal democracy is one that recognizes and encourages democratic participation and funding in order to make the government more responsive to the needs of the people. Yet, there seems to be a wide gap between democratic participation of the people, and funding for the development of basic education, primary health care, water supply, and sanitation in Daura, Bindawa, Malumfashi, Kafur, Dutsin-ma, and Safana Local Government Areas of Katsina state. The main objective of the study is to assess the effect of democratic participation, and funding for service delivery. The specific objectives are to determine the effect of democratic participation, and funding on the development of basic education, primary health care, water supply, and sanitation in the selected Local Government Areas of Katsina State. Democratic participation, Efficiency Services schools of thought, and the Public Value Theory were employed as theoretical frameworks for the study. Survey research design was used, the six selected Local Government Areas formed the population of the study, and using Yamane formula, a sample size of 1,111 was arrived at. Simple random and Purposive sampling techniques were employed in the selection of respondents. Both primary and secondary sources of data were explored. Primary data were collected using five sets of questionnaires administered to Local Government functionaries, staff of Basic Education Unit, staff of Primary Healthcare Unit, staff of Social Development Unit, and the general public. Semistructured interview with the aid of a checklist was conducted with some members of Parents Teachers Associations (PTA), members of National Union of Teachers (NUT), members of Medical and Health Workers Union (MAHWU), executives of political parties, and Community Based Associations. Systematic observation was made of primary and junior secondary schools, primary healthcare facilities, public water supply points, and refuse dump sites. Secondary data were sourced from records from Katsina state Ministry of Finance, Education, and Health, and from Departments of Education and Social Development, Primary Health care, Water Supply and Sanitation, and Treasury, of the six Local Governments’ Secretariats. Data were presented in tabular form, analyzed using Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS 20.0), and Kendall’s tau-b Correlation Coefficient was used to test the hypotheses postulated for the study. The study found that there is moderate degree of democratic participation by the people in the study areas, yet there is no active participation of the people in decision making at Local Government level, and development of basic education, primary health care, water supply, and sanitation was not as a result of democratic participation. The study found that there is adequate funding for basic education in all the study areas, inadequate funding for primary health care in all the study areas except Daura Local Government, inadequate funding for water supply and sanitation in the study areas. As such the study concluded that, on aggregate, development of basic education, primary health care, water supply, and sanitation in the study areas was not influenced by the people’s democratic participation, nor was it due to adequacy of funding.Governments use the mass media of communication to sensitize people on important policy issues such as security matters, support for polio immunization etc, political parties and politicians do the same to peddle their parties and candidacy respectively. Thus, it is recommended that these same stakeholders use the same channels to educate their people politically, sensitize them socially, and inform them adequately and timely, and include them in problem identification, planning, budgeting, implementation, and monitoring and evaluation so as to harmonize their democratic participation, and service delivery at Local Government level. The source of authority for all tiers of government in Nigeria is the Federal Republic of Nigeria Constitution. In view of the fact that efficient service delivery requires adequate funding, it is recommended that the Constitution be amended to compel Local Governments and other tiers of government to make a mandatory and fixed allocation, to be reviewed periodically, forthe development of basic education, primary health care, provision of water supply, and sanitation.
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