Hupa, Marko Lucas2024-09-262024-09-262018APAhttps://scholar.mzumbe.ac.tz/handle/123456789/1292A dissertation submitted to the School of Public Administration and Management (SOPAM) in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the award of Master’s Degree in Public Administration (MPA) of Mzumbe University.This study aimed to assess the effectiveness of citizen participation in rural development in Pangani District Council. The study was guided by three specific objectives which are to identify and assess major means of citizen participation, to determine the extent of citizen participation and examine the factors affecting citizen participation in rural development. The study was guided by hybrid model of citizen participation developed from the works of Arnstein (1969), Eyben (2003) and Wilcox (1994). The hybrid model of citizen participation depicts different levels of community involvement. The study employed the Case Study Design and Data were collected from 81 ordinary citizens and 9 leaders from Pangani District Council. The content analysis was used in analyzing data. The findings showed that the major means for citizen participation used in the council are financial contribution, labour contribution and participation through village assembly. Moreover, the study found that in most of the study area citizen participation was very weak or did not exist at all. The findings also revealed that there were several factors that affected citizen participation in rural development in Pangani District Council. These among other were low level of transparency and lack of trust, limited access to information, rejection of citizens views and little knowledge on right and responsibilities, different political ideologies, violation of rule of law, conflicts between community and local leaders, and government failure to respond to citizen needs and lack of capacity. The study came up with the following recommendations: firstly, there should be frequency communication between leaders and citizen and access to information are the fundamental prerequisite to persuade community participation in development. Secondly, Leaders should avoid bad publicity so that the citizen cannot lose trust. Thirdly, Transparency in financial affairs should be an open agenda and fourthly views and preferences of the citizen should be considered while implementing development projects and programs.enCitizen participationCommunity participation for Rural DevelopmentDecentralization theoryThesis