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Local governments in retrospect

Published : Sunday, 29 September, 2024 at 12:00 AM  Count : 342
Dr Kazi SM Khasrul Alam Quddusi
Local governments are key institutions of government to ensure the development of the respective areas. They carry out development activities as per the requirements of the areas under their jurisdiction. Discussions and debates about their essential role and reality in Bangladesh have been going on for many years. Although local government agencies need to build their own capacity, all the blame cannot be placed on them.  This article will highlight some of the relevant issues that affect the performance of local government agencies.Proponents of a school of thought hold that local government bodies have not been allowed to develop in Bangladesh. In fact, the long-standing desire to keep local government agencies under central control is not a new phenomenon in Bangladesh. Another school of thought points to the issue that local government agencies are not capable of functioning effectively.

Let's start with City Corporation. City corporations are important local government bodies in Bangladesh and some mayors hold ministerial status. However, in most cases, their effectiveness was not significant. Although citizens have high expectations from these organizations, they fail to deliver in most cases. Corporations blame it on their lack of power. However, critics claim that corporations cannot deliver good services due to lack of commitment as well as corruption. For example, a large sum of money is allocated to city corporations for mosquito control. However, the tyranny of this tiny creature sometimes becomes so terrible that people have reason to believe that there is no anti-mosquito system at the city corporation level. Unwillingness or inability of city corporations to eradicate mosquitoes is identified as an important reason for the worsening dengue situation in Dhaka and Chittagong.

The problem of waterlogging is also a very vexing problem in several city corporation areas. However, despite the expenditure of thousands of crores of rupees, Chittagong remains the same as it was during the floods. Several hours of rain cause severe waterlogging in several important parts of the city. However, the responsibility of the Chittagong Development Authority is not less in this case. Meanwhile, waterlogging in various parts of Dhaka has now become a daily occurrence during monsoons. Solving this problem requires the support of key government agencies as well as improvement of drainage systems by city corporations. As with other problems, lack of coordination between different agencies at this level is another glaring problem that has showed no sign of abating in recent times. Zilla Parishads are supposed to play a very important role at the district level. However, their presence is still very insignificant. The government appointed administrators to the Zilla Parishads instead of electing them to the bodies. They cannot become real entities without a full council. In the presence of the district administration, there is room for deliberation on its importance and effectiveness. Coordination can bring good results here.

Upazila Parishad is another important level of local government system in Bangladesh. Dynamics and power politics at this level add a new dimension to the whole scenario. Military ruler Hussain Muhammad Ershad introduced this system to empower the people at this level. It was a good arrangement at this level. Critics, however, believe that GeneralErshad introducedit to build a strong support base for himself. Upazila Parishad had considerable power during Ershad Saheb's regime. However, after his departure, the next Khaleda Zia government abolished this system. Later, the Awami League government brought it back again. However, it has been surrounded by a sort of inactivity since its relaunch. Interestingly, at this level, there was a triangular relationship between members of parliament, Upazila Parishad Chairman and Upazila NirbahiOfficers. The upazila parishad chairman was behind in the balance of power compared to the other two.


A major complaint against Upazila Parishads is that they cannot prepare annual plans or budgets. Another relevant point is that Upazila Chairmen are more interested in power than in performance. However, this trend should not be blamed on this group alone as it is a national trend of the country. In fact, official incumbents at almost every level in Bangladesh are eager ride roughshod over others. Rather than performing their duties properly, they are busy displaying their power through unfair means and in getting favors from the powerful. In Bangladesh, municipalities have also gained relative importance as local government bodies. The heads of these urban local government bodies have the title of Mayor. Elections to these organizations were held with deep enthusiasm among local people and candidates. Like other organizations, theirfunctions are limited to works such as street lighting, sanitation, distribution of birth certificates, etc. However, some of the municipalities have earned the trust of the people thanks to their commendable performance.

Union Parishad is the most vibrant local government organization in the country since its inception. Its legal framework is also quite good. Union Parishad chairmen enjoy a fair amount of power at this level without any problems created by any parallel government agency. Most of the developmental work is carried out by the Union Parishad where the chairmen enjoy great benefits.Although greater political dominance at the upazila level affects their functioning, union parishad chairmen are better positioned than elected officials in other local government bodies.  Union councils are expected to prepare their own plans and send them upwards so that the plans at the national level can reflect the needs and requirements at the grassroots level. A relevant problem is the lack of proper knowledge of Union Parishads to formulate annual plans. However, tendency of higher authorities not to train and skill them for this strategic work can be blamed for their inability to perform the technical work of preparingannual plan efficiently.

Earlier, elections to major local government bodies were held on a non-partisan basis. Although there was political representation at almost every level, it was not formal. As a result, political parties, especially the ruling party, were not in a frenzy to win nominations. However, party nomination-based elections in the past have led to several negative outcomes such as nomination trading, increased internal strife and increased violence. At the end of the previous government, however, Awami League withdrew from the issue of party nominations in various local government elections. The new interim government removed the city corporation mayor, upazila chairman and municipal mayors after assuming office. The reasoning behind this was that their selection process was not proper. Additional responsibilities have been given to government officials in these posts. Government officials are already overburdened with various tasks. So, it is an added pressure for them. 

According to Article 59 of the Constitution of Bangladesh, local government institutions should be managed through elected representatives. Initiatives can be taken for fair elections in these institutions as soon as possible. However, necessary reforms can be made to make the accountability system in such bodies more effective so that elected officials do not become corrupt and autocratic.

The writer Professor, Department of Public Administration, University of Chittagong


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