Golooba-Mutebi's report on decentralization and popular participation in Uganda highlights the shortcomings of participatory development. It traces the path of development followed in the primary healthcare sector and concludes that decentralization and popular participation have failed to correct the shortcomings thought to be the result of the top-down political system previously in place. He does not support the top-down approach and recognizes its flaws, but argues that decentralization fails to correct them. Participatory development enthusiasts emphasize empowerment and responsibility. Golooba-Mutebi correctly argues that the transfer of power does not necessarily lead to empowerment and that management at the local level does not lead to greater accountability. While decentralization and popular participation in Uganda's primary healthcare sector have resulted in improvements in infrastructure, they have failed to address service delivery and accountability. This is where Golooba-Mutebi makes his greatest contribution. Following authors such as Hyden and Chaason, he argues that participatory development has little importance in weak states. He does not argue, as authors such as Cooke do, against the use of participatory development. But rather it states that efforts made using the participatory development model, in the framework of a weak state, are destined to be insignificant. Golooba-Mutebi identifies two major obstacles present in weak states that hinder participatory development efforts; limited access to resources and limited information and knowledge. He claims community health workers failed to provide adequate services because they did not receive their salaries on time. This has led to various fo... half of the paper ......participatory development continues to produce apparently positive results. Johnston says understanding community participation is taken for granted. He believes that participation can be defined by the level of responsibility afforded to the participant. From powerlessness to having creative control, he identifies different levels of participation. Johnston goes on to argue that the level of responsibility one acquires is directly related to the extent of one's knowledge. The more informed and individual one is, the more meaning a particular initiative will bring with it; the greater the meaning, the greater the (level of) participation. Through creative participation in the development process the individual becomes empowered. This links to Golooba-Mutebi's thesis that knowledge is the key to successful participatory development.