Ituri: Launching of the participatory budgeting process to strengthen financial governance

Bunia, August 9^th, 2026 (CPA). – Work on the participatory budgeting process aimed at strengthening financial governance in Ituri province, in the north-east of the Democratic Republic of Congo, has been officially launched on Saturday in Bunia by the deputy chief of staff to the military governor in charge of the economy, according to a press release consulted on Sunday by CPA. “The provincial government is committed to making this process a genuine forum for dialogue with the public so that the next provincial budget better reflects the priorities of local communities,” has declared Dieudonné Omasombo, deputy chief of staff to the military governor in charge of the Economy and Finance, as quoted in the press release. According to the source, participatory budgeting is an initiative designed to involve citizens in setting public spending priorities and to enhance the province’s financial transparency. For his part, the provincial coordinator of Star-RDC, Mr Steve Sengida, has called on citizens to voice their needs so that these can be incorporated into budgetary decisions, noting that from now on, decisions regarding investments and development initiatives will no longer be the sole responsibility of the government, but will result from a process shared with the public. For the organisers, the participatory budgeting mechanism will enable local communities to identify and prioritise the needs deemed most important for the development of their areas, before these are incorporated into the drafting of the next provincial budget. The conference has been attended by representatives of the provincial government, the provincial Finance and Budget Divisions, the Provincial Revenue Authority, the departments responsible for revenue mobilisation, the Provincial Assembly and civil society organisations. Following the consultations, participants will draw up recommendations aimed at better addressing the priorities expressed by the local population. As part of a pilot phase, the experience will be gradually extended to two chiefdoms located in the territories of Mambasa and Mahagi, before potentially being rolled out across the whole of Ituri Province.ACP/