Odienné, Jan 22, 2022 (AIP) – An advocacy group has been set up to make citizen participation effective in the implementation of investment projects for inclusive development in the municipality of Odienné.

The formation of this group is part of the implementation of a project to impregnate communities with the concept of participatory budgeting. The program is being deployed in seven Ivorian municipalities including Odienné and piloted by the NGO forum with the technical and financial support of UUNICEF, it is reported.

Twelve in number, the members of the Odienné advocacy group were appointed by the communities themselves from among some forty men, women, young people and adolescents who had previously benefited from training on participatory budgeting, l identification of community projects, children’s rights and citizen participation.

These, in the extension of the actions relating to the implementation of the concept of participatory budgeting in Odienné, met in a workshop, Thursday 20 and Friday 21 January 2022, to sort out the projects declined by different communities and retain the most relevant to submit to the municipal council.

“We are going to proceed by triangulation in order to retain three or even four projects deemed relevant. We will then write an advocacy note which will be sent to the mayor,” explained the project coordinator of the NGO forum, Bénédicte Aka, during the first day of the meeting.

The next step is the official submission of the advocacy note and “mobilization until at least one project from the community is included in the next three-year program of the municipal council”, she added.

The program to implement the concept of participatory budgeting began in 2018 and runs until 2025. Adiaké, Béoumi, Bouna, Bouaflé, Soubré, Odienné and Zouhan-hounien are the municipalities concerned by this project.

Source: Agence Ivoirienne de Presse