Citizen Participation in Planning: Balancing the Equation Between Equitable Involvement and Equitable Service Distribution

Abstract

This chapter analyses service delivery through the lens of citizens. At the centre of this introspection is an excursion into people’s attitudes and perceptions towards the level and quality of service delivery as well as towards those who are mandated to provide the service. This chapter captures these perceptions by using data collected from social surveys collected from various sources. In this regard, it also brings into perspective households’ beliefs and expectations in relation to the government in power and party politics which seems to prevail in the context of service delivery. But more so, it taps into people’s notions of governance especially the relationship between the state and the beneficiaries as seen through the mirror of different social classes and different regions in the country.