Asian Journal of Economics, Business and Accounting

Establishment of the CBEF at the county level via the Public Finance Management Act (PFMA) 2012 was designed to increase public involvement in the financial management of the county. The study was anchored under elite mass stakeholder theory. The study employed a descriptive survey with a target population of 76 respondents consisting of 21 members of CBEF and 55 representatives of various groups. A sample size of 69 respondents was selected through purposive sampling for the CBEF members and a simple random sampling for the representatives, the study used questionnaire for data collection which were administered to the participants by the researcher. The collected data was coded; analyzed using a SPSS software inferential statistics were presented in frequencies, tables and figures while descriptive statistics was presented in Mean and standard deviation, a binary logit regression model was suitable to establish the relationship between the study variables. The study stablished that there was a balanced representation in the formation of the Forum with a good balancing between the county executive and non-state representatives with 51.61% being county executive representatives and 48.39% were non- state representatives. The study revealed that an increase in representation can increase the chances of public participation in the budget making process by 2.812 times (Odds Ratio = 2.812). The study concluded that members of the Meru CBEF are involved in county budget making process, and this may have enhanced the public participation since their representatives are given a voice in the process of budget making. The study recommends that the county government of Meru to take in to account the various parameter of public participation in this study for implementation to enhance public participation in budget making process.