Editorial
Local government in fetters
Counterproductive for democracy
One hardly expects to see the chairmen and vice-chairmen of upazilla (UZ) parishads go on hunger strike unto death, and more so when they happen to be elected by the people on the basis of open adult franchise. And they are demanding that they be allowed to perform their respective duties and carryout their responsibilities as laid down in the constitution of the country.
The UZ parishad Chairmen and their deputy have a 10-point demand which has remained unfulfilled. And among other things they want the UZ parishads to be freed of the control of bureaucrats and MPs and be made autonomous for effective functioning. And there is ample merit in the criticism hurled at the lawmakers that they, together with the bureaucrats, have made the local government weak.
It is difficult not to agree with the position taken by the UZ parishad chairmen and vice-chairmen on the functioning of the UZ parishads. There is little doubt that, in spite of the commitment made by the AL-led grand alliance in their election manifesto, the local government institution is anything but strengthened as it stands today because of some of the policy decisions taken by the government in respect of UZ that has caused the parishads to be tied to the apron string of the lawmakers.
We would like to reemphasise that local governments cannot brook unnecessary interference, either bureaucratic or parliamentary. Unfortunately, through the changes in the UZ Parishad (amended) Act-2009 there is a predominance of the MPs in local government affairs. The changes, we feel, violate not only the letter of the constitution but also the spirit of how the framers of the constitution wanted to see the affairs of the local government conducted, not to say that it violates the electoral promise of the alliance government, clearly demonstrated by some the alliance partners openly disassociating from the position of the government on the issue.
Effective local government helps effective decentralisation of the administration. This in turn reinforces local institutions that are so very necessary to reinforce
democratic norms and practices. Needless to say, development process is also stymied without effective local bodies playing participatory and complementary role in the development process, where planning ought to be done bottom up.
We strongly urge the government to consider the demands of the chairmen and vice-chairmen seriously. It must take note of the likely conflictual position that the two sets of elected representatives of the people, the MPs and chairmen and vice-chairmen, would be put in under the new dispensation, and whether that will be beneficial for good governance. We wonder whether it is at all necessary to accord the MP an advisory role that is binding on the parishads and whether the parishads should become second fiddle of the bureaucracy. It is also important to consider whether it is prudent to have law to sack elected representatives of the people, in the manner that is being considered. These will, we feel, be disservice to democracy and good governance in the long run.
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