Public Participation: A Meaningful Engagement or a Tick-Box Exercise?

Public participation, Governance, Fiscal transparency, Kenya, Civic engagement This article explores the practice of public participation in Kenya’s devolved system of governance, questioning whether it functions as a meaningful engagement tool or merely a procedural requirement. Drawing from county-level experiences in the Coast Region, it highlights barriers that limit effective citizen engagement and proposes ways to make participation more inclusive, evidence-based, and results-oriented in public finance processes.