Necessary to form an independent local government commission and formulate a comprehensive local government policy
Despite years of efforts toward decentralization, local government of Bangladesh has remained heavily dependent on central government resources, limiting their autonomy in addressing community needs, budgeting and delivering essential services. Therefore, actionable guidelines to minimize political influence in local governance, fostering transparency, empowering local government officials, practical approaches for boosting people’s participation in governance, providing easy access to technology for quick service, monitoring functions of local government and other necessary steps should be taken to bring a decentralized system in Bangladesh. Besides, it is necessary to form an independent local government commission and formulate a comprehensive local government policy.
Said experts in a roundtable discussion titled ‘Towards Effective, Transparent and Accountable Local Governance’ on November 24, Sunday in Dhaka, Bangladesh. This event was jointly organized by UNDP’s Strengthening Institutions, Policies, and Services (SIPS) project and the Daily Prothom Alo, supported by the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC), with research support from the Centre on Budget and Policy (CBP), University of Dhaka.
The Chair of the Local Government Reform Commission Dr. Tofail Ahmed delivered the keynote speech. He said, “We need a system which consists of relation between local and central government. He stressed the formation of one Comprehensive Local Government Act, so that districts, upazilas, unions can reform their organizational structure, funding and judiaciary system.”
The dialogue was represented by stakeholders from government, civil society, academia, student representatives from anti-discrimintation movement, youth development representatives, media , local government representatives including four members of the Local Government Reform Commission, and UNDP officials to identify actionable reforms aimed at decentralizing governance in Bangladesh.
