Assessing the Comprehensiveness of Community Participation in the Planning and Implementation of Development Projects. A Case of the Women and Children’s Ward (WCW) Facility in Abokobi, Ghana

Community development projects requires the use of participatory approaches in the formulation of plans to reflect the needs and aspiration of the people. Participatory development perceives local people as experts within their own circumstances, thus highlighting the need to draw on their strengths and indigenous capabilities. Active participation ensures that the beneficiaries of the development project are empowered to become actively involved in all stages of a project cycle. The nine-month long (October 2018 to July 2019) study, took place in Abokobi in the Ga east municipality and examined the pattern of community participation in development project in the Abokobi municipality. Using a qualitative research approach, the study investigated the roles handed to different category of community members through in-depth interviews conducted amongst twenty-two (22) respondents in other to analyze the comprehensiveness of community participation within the study location. The study also examines some factors that hinder or enhance the involvement of community members or beneficiaries in the development process of the Municipality. The study found that there was active engagement of people at the initial stages of project execution by the Assembly. However active engagement of community members reduced as the project progressed to the implementation stage. The study also found that grassroot mobilization and the formation of community organizations were key social factors that enhanced the participation of people in the development process because the Assembly found it convenient engaging community organized groups. The study also found that the assembly uses incentivization and community sensitization as a strategy to raise awareness and encourage community members to attend meetings. The study therefore concludes that the Assembly continuously uses this strategy because the community members themselves condones it and sees it as a pre-requisite for their involvement in town hall meetings. The study also concludes, that the low pace at which the Assembly attends to the developmental needs of the people was a disincentive for community participation. The study recommends that the assembly establishes an effective channel of information transfer between the community and the assembly to enhance share of knowledge and information towards successful community project planning. The study also recommends the deepening of education and sensitization programs to educate the people on the need for their participation and the influence they wield over their own projects