Creating local governments, giving them responsibility for public works and services, and mandating citizen participation in decision-making has become a new goal and program of international development. These ‘decentralization and citizen participation’ programs are a major step forward in increasing democracy in developing countries. Voting in national elections every few years is not a lot of democratic practice. Conversely, at the local level, citizens can discuss and choose local taxes, select public works and services, and supervise their provision. They got to vote several times a year, and this builds democratic practice, attitude, and expectation. Citizens begin thinking of public officials as public servants, whose job it is to carry out these public works and services.
In addition, no central or regional government can begin to carry out public works and services in the thousands of rural communities and urban neighborhoods that make up the developing countries. Decentralization of responsibility for public works and services to local governments dramatically increases the number of projects that can be carried out, and citizen participation in the selection and supervision of the public works and services increases their effectiveness and impact.
