At Friends of the Nation (FoN), we see budgets not only as financial plans but as tools that directly shape people’s lives. That is why we promote participatory budgeting; a process where citizens and local governments work together to decide how public funds should be raised, allocated, and used. This process opens the door for citizens to identify priorities, discuss options with their assemblies, and monitor how resources are spent. It shifts decision-making from being top-down to inclusive and people-centered.
Why It Matters
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Gives citizens a voice in deciding development priorities.
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Builds trust between assemblies and communities.
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Improves transparency in revenue mobilization and expenditure.
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Promotes equity by including women, youth, and marginalized groups.
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Strengthens accountability by linking community priorities to assembly action.
What FoN Does
FoN supports participatory budgeting by:
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Training assembly officers and citizens on PB tools and practices.
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Facilitating community meetings to identify and rank development needs.
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Supporting budget hearings where assemblies present and refine plans with citizen input.
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Linking PB to other accountability tools such as town hall meetings, citizen scorecards, and accountability billboards.
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Ensuring citizens can monitor how funds are spent and provide feedback.
The Results
Participatory budgeting has helped communities influence decisions in areas such as sanitation, market infrastructure, education, and health. Assemblies gain stronger compliance in revenue mobilization, while citizens see themselves as partners in governance rather than passive recipients of services.
Call to Action
FoN calls on assemblies to embrace participatory budgeting as a standard practice, and on citizens to engage actively in shaping the budgets that affect their lives. Together, we can make public spending more transparent, equitable, and impactful