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Title
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Perceptions Towards Participation in Local Developmental Programs Among Youths and Women. Evidence from the City of Gweru. Zimbabwe
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Creator
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Jachi Moses
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Chakaipa Abisai
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Muchongwe Nevermind
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Chibhoyi David
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Abstract
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The study confronted the poor participation of youths and women in local development activities and programs noted within the city of Gweru. It sought to establish factors influencing how youths and women perceive the concept of democratic participation in the local development programs. A survey was conducted, collecting questionnaire data from 90 purposively selected respondents from the city of Gweru. Through application of the Mann Whitney U and the Kruskal Wallis non-parametric tests, it was revealed that the responses obtained were not affected by demographic variables of age, gender, marital status or qualification of respondents, hence, the responses could be relied upon. The study further applied the Partial Least Squares models (PLS-PM) to examine relationships between the latent variables, using factor loadings and paths coefficients. It was therefore confirmed from the inner and outer models that perceptions of residents have a significant influence on their respective behaviour. The study established that residents in the city of Gweru were quite aware of the concept of democratic governance, participation and the associated benefits. However, a handful of barriers were noted as standing in the way of youths‟ and women‟s full participation in local development programs. Noted challenges include partisan politics, poor accountability and lack of support for democratic participation. Among other proposed remedies, the study recommends the need to improve relationships between councillors, council executive and residents, which goes a long way improving transparency, accountability, and stakeholder perception. This has a potential to positively influence residents‟ compliance behaviour, which comes with a multiplier effect on the local authority‟s revenue flows that can transform into improved service delivery.
Keywords
Youth, Women, Participation, Local governance
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Date
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May. 2020
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Source
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IOSR Journal of Humanities and Social Science (IOSR-JHSS)
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volume
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25
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issue
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5
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pages
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23-32
