Overview of people‘s participation
The concept of people’s participation is not a new paradigm. Its idea has been around since the time of the ancient Greeks. The very concept of people’s rule or Demokratos was placed at the heart of the Athenian system, Greece. People are playing different roles in the decision-making process of the government, ranging from proposing, considering, voting or opposing a local policy.
Since the beginning of the wave of democratization and democratic governance, Southeast Asian countries like the Philippines, Indonesia, Thailand, Cambodia and Vietnam have institutionalized people’s participation in the decision-making apparatus of the government. The reforms were initiated in Vietnam with the transition from a state-centered economy into a more market-based economy, resulted in development and growth, allowing local initiatives for development and people’s participation in local governance.
As a form of more direct participation by people in local government affairs, the Party and the government have been promoting the promulgation and implementation of grassroots democracy regulations in each locality at the commune level. A government decree providing a framework for this policy stipulates areas in which people exercise their democratic rights in different manners, in accordance with the slogan “people know, people discuss, people implement, people monitor.”
People‘s participation in upgrading old residential blocks in cities in Vietnam
People live in old residential blocks in some cities in Vietnam. The city government has to mobilize the community to participate in the improvement of the poor inhabitants’ living condition. The plan was immediately carried out using the bottom-up approach. The local council encouraged the community to participate in local planning process to address the limitations of the old planning process. The objectives are to improve the lives of the people and creating a sustainable urban development process, promote responsibility of the community, strengthen community trust and assistance, efficiently mobilize resources. Community Supervision Boards were established with membership of community elected representatives. People’s participation began with regular consultation between the stakeholders and the Community Supervision Boards.
During every meeting, a report is presented and the members participate in the discussion of the project. Through consultation with the Ward People‘s Committees, the affected families agreed to be relocated and at the same time invest in building their own infrastructure and housing. The successful implementation of this project was a result of the coordination between the local government, non-state organizations and the active participation of the community. Using a bottom up approach, the members of the community were able to monitor, implement and even personally contribute to the success of the project.
There are some lessons learnt from this practice of peope’s participation in urban management. Firstly, it is the importance of community participation in local development. Planning must be participatory and stakeholders participate in the initital stage of the project and there should be a truly people centered development plan. People can truly act as agent of development when given the ability to decide what is good for the community. Local governments should implement good coordination with stakeholders. Local officials have to possess a mindset of people’s participation in local development, democratic culture, participation culture, accountability to people; improve public infrastructure for local socio-economic development.
The bottom-up approach created a permanent consultative mechanism and made the project transparent since. Financial and human resources are mobilized from stakeholders. The trust in the community, cooperation between the community and local government have been increased, which promotes people’s participation in urban governance, public trust through voluntary participation, reserving time and resources for participation.
