General Councils and Local Participation in Development

Since the 2000s, there has been renewed interest in decentralisation in Côte d'Ivoire through the creation of General Councils and districts. However, this reform has not had the expected impact on local societies and remains to be explored. It is in this context that the study on General Councils and local participation is being carried out. For the success of this reform, the participation of the local population is desired. As a strategy, the Sakassou General Council involved the two social entities that make up the population: the Allandjra (Denkyira) and the Assabou (Ashanti). The latter have been committed to the development policy of the General Council from the outset. However, after a decade of implementation of decentralisation, the General Councils have not been able to generate local participation and have contributed to the weakening of the departmental dynamism. Development initiatives have not been able to erase psychological and sociological constraints and even contribute to the improvement of the living environment of the population. They have contributed to the perpetuation of the legend of the Sakassou kingdom.