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People’s Participation in Urban Local Governments

Local government is defined by Goulding as the management of their own affairs by the people of a locality.1 In the words of Harris, it is a government by the people themselves through freely elected representatives.2 According to Venkatarangia, it is the administration of a locality by a body representing the local inhabitants.3 Professor W.A. Robson observes that local government presupposes the existence of a local authority as well as the participation of the local community in the administration of its own affairs.4

These definitions of local government reflect the crucial significance of participation of people in the management and administration of their local affairs through their ...

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