Lessons for Botswana from Commonwealth and International Experience in Strengthening Public Participation Processes

This rapid evidence review investigates the lessons that Botswana can draw upon from international and Commonwealth experience in developing framework legislation that strengthens public participation. Botswana is a unitary state with a centralised system of government. Botswana’s Constitution does not recognise public participation in governance as a core value and there is currently no legislation on public participation.

For this reason, Botswana aims to reform its governance processes through legislation that will institutionalise public participation with the aim of increasing public trust in legislative processes and democratic accountability. Public participation in democracies is important because it adds legitimacy to decision-making through the promotion of transparency, accountability and inclusivity. The review covers a number of sub-themes and utilises five case studies of middle-income countries to explore good practices in developing public participation.