Post-independence South Sudan has many areas in which progress is required in order to develop the economy. South Sudan’s economy, for is still run largely (98%) on oil revenues. In order to improve the standards of living of the citizens, good governance, transparency and accountability are the key. These will help build confidence, stability as well as the credibility of the government. How to achieve diversification of the economy in order to move away from the overdependence on oil will be the focus of this research. Diversification, especially in the context of small and fragile economies, has become an important topic. This research will investigate possible economic strategies to diversify the crude-based economy in South Sudan and will assess the circumstances under which economic diversification can be achieved. The research will identify and analyse the issues that impede and hinder economic growth in the non-oil sectors of the South Sudanese economy and explore how far the government has delivered the conditions necessary for the private sector to grow so that it can contribute considerably to the diversification and growth of the economy and the nation. This research was started in 2012, one year after South Sudan got its independence from Sudan. The country’s first Development Plan was rolled out in 2011. Unfortunately, a war broke out in December 2013, disrupting life in the new country, especially economic activities. A peace treaty has since been signed to end the war. The government, however, still continues forward with just one source of revenue – oil. Nonetheless, the findings of this research will offer an analysis as well as recommendations for ways to diversify the South Sudanese economy once peace is firmly established in the country.

Local government is an important level of participatory democracy, where communities play an active role not only as the electorate, but also as end-users and consumers, and thereby holding their municipal councils accountable for their actions. Given the above statement, the interim Constitution of the Republic of South Sudan 2011, entrusts local government with the provision of services to communities in a sustainable manner. It also provides for the promotion of social and economic development and the promotion of a safe and healthy environment. This also entails the need for a commitment to service delivery hence, public representatives and public officials must take seriously their obligation to render services to the people that could be in the form of ensuring that refuse gets collected, electricity being supplied and other services rendered which better the general welfare of citizens. There are several definitions of public participation, but it can be defined as a process of empowering citizens by involving them in making decisions on all issues that concern them, which can be political, social or economic. The main aim of this study was to, investigate and identify the nature and extent of integrated participatory planning in Yei River County and the extent to which opportunities for public participation are accessible to the communities. The study sought to investigate: How different stakeholders in the community in Yei River County make use of public participation opportunities during the integrated participatory planning process? As such, the main objectives of the study were to; to assess the existing integrated participatory planning practices in Yei River County, to examine and evaluate how the existing integrated participatory planning practices influence service delivery in Yei River County and lastly to identify the barriers to effective integrated participatory planning in YRC and advance recommendations for improvement. Purposive and snowball sampling methods were used and data was collected from a sample of two hundred and twenty-six (226) public officials, comprising of Local Government officials, County councillors and members of the public. Results from the data collected using open and close-ended questionnaires, showed that public participation is very important in local government planning as it leads to incorporation of public suggestions and interests in the development strategies. The results further showed that public meetings and workshops were the only public participation mechanisms being used by Yei River County. The study therefore recommended among other things that, Yei River County should strengthen public participation in integrated participatory planning by providing adequate skilled human resources and establishing structures, as well as public participation mechanisms at the Payam and Boma levels. It was also recommended that the communities needed to utilise all available mechanisms of participation to ensure maximum participation during the integrated participatory planning processes.