The New Nation - Internet Edition

THE Coalition of Good Governance, a social organisation, organised a seminar on local government in the capital city the other day. Distinguished personalities had exchange of views on local government at the function. Academics and public service officials presented their studies and views on the subject. They recommended the adoption of an administrative system with decentralisation of power for change in governance.

The keynote paper on decentralisation of power and development of local government agencies including the district councils was presented by a former secretary to the government. Speakers at the seminar projected the realities in the arena of administration, mainly in local government bodies like the District Councils, the Municipalities as well as the Upazila Councils and the Union Parishads. They highlighted the inadequacies of revenue resources of local government bodies, their dependence on the national government. They asserted that the existing system of governance in Bangladesh is too much centralised. Local government agencies have not been assigned the tasks of providing services and facilities for meeting basic needs of the people. The system of primary education, that was once managed by the District Councils of the pre-independence days, has now been placed under the control of the Ministry of Primary Education. Programmes for healthcare including immunisation of children, operation of orphanages and construction of roads and culverts have also been placed under central government agencies.

It is thus no wonder that people wait for care from the central government bodies for meeting even basic needs. The structure and functioning of local government bodies remains quite inadequate. The revenue resources of these bodies are limited. Those participating in the seminar emphasised the obligations of local government bodies and called for broadening their bases for rendering services to the people. The local government bodies should be upgraded with necessary devolution of power. Elected representatives should run local government bodies. They should have power to optimise the use of revenue resources for meeting demands of the people. The local government bodies should have their own set-ups and personnel for adoption and implementation of programmes. The prevailing practice of continuous intervention by the central government agencies and political figures should also be done away with. The local government bodies should also be assigned the task of maintaining law and order with the help of police administration at local levels.