Local government needs authority with its responsibility
Amid clashes among political parties and their supporters over the municipal elections at various places of the country, a national policy dialogue on Sunday threw light on the pitiful state of this local government body. There are 329 pourashavas (municipalities) in the country. Of which, salaries and allowances remain pending for 10 to 60 months in 40 pourashavas and for one month to 59 months in and 170 pourashavas. This indicates that most of the pourashavas are unable to pay salaries and allowances to the officials and employees. Under these circumstances, proper public service can hardly be expected from these local government bodies.
Participating in the dialogue organised under the Livelihoods Improvement of Poor Communities Project (LIUPCP) of the Local Government Division (LGD), were elected representatives of the pourashavas, the local government minister, officials of the Local Government Division, mayors of the city corporations, and development workers. The minister urged the municipalities to increase their revenue saying that the law will be amended to dissolve the pourashavas if they can’t pay their staff for 12 months. On the other, the municipal mayors called for increased infrastructural facilities and protection by law. Experts stressed on the need to monitor field level work.
The keynote paper presented at the dialogue identified the obstacles to institutional and financial capacity development in 11 city corporations and municipalities under the project. These included the lack of coordination in urbanisation in the country, lack of planning and policy structure and lack of trained and skilled human resources. The keynote paper also raised questions on the institution’s budget process as well about the coordination and continuity in talking up projects.
These problems are not unknown to the policymakers. But local government bodies have been functioning in the traditional way during all previous governments. They also used pourashavas politically like other local government organisations. The minister is now telling the municipalities to run on their revenue. But he did not say from where this revenue will come. Why will municipalities and city corporations depend on the central government? Countries which have strong local government bodies, are controlled less by the central government.
The scope of our local government has increased, but not its authority. The development policy is run centrally. Elected representatives hardly exercise control over the funds spent for development in city corporations, upazilas and the zila parishads every year. Such local government bodies can’t deliver services to the marginalised population. Change in development policy is necessary to empower the local government.
Government policymakers told the local government bodies to increase their revenue, without specifying how to do so or how the local government will be empowered. If the central government keeps the entire instrument of development in its own hands, people will not give money to the local government institutions, even if they can afford to do so. Along with its responsibilities, the local government needs authority in order to serve the people.