Non-functional local admin makes govt blind, deaf
Says deputy speaker
The non-functional state of the local governments has turned the current government blind and deaf, said Deputy Speaker of Parliament Shawkat Ali at a discussion yesterday.
Terming the local government institutions as the eyes and ears of the central government of a democratic state, he said, “It neither has the ability to see nor to listen. Yet it calls itself the central government.”
Shawkat was speaking as the chief guest at a discussion titled “Effective Upazila Parishad: Challenges and imperatives” organised by Transparency International, Bangladesh (TIB) at the city's Cirdap auditorium.
Shawkat clarified that his statement was completely his personal view of the situation, not as the deputy speaker or an Awami League activist.
“The central government is too big in our country. The smaller it is, the better. Power has to be devolved to people,” he said.
The government is making the local government institutions non-functional, bypassing the basic constitutional idea of power decentralisation, he said.
He said he found no logic behind lawmakers conflicting with upazila parishad chairmen over share of power in the local government.
However, Shawkat said he was not optimistic about the change in power distribution and making the masses more powerful through a functional local government system.
“We create a fresh problem while solving a specific one. And we spend our whole life or tenure in solving problems. We do not follow any system,” said Shawkat.
Discussants observed that the current upazila parishad act was completely unconstitutional, formulated by the lawmakers only in their own interests.
Referring to a number of circulations issued over making lawmakers precedence over upazila parishad chairmen, local government expert Dr Tofael Ahmed said, “The state is gradually turning into a circular republic.
“The circulations are made in violation of a law, which itself is a breach of the constitution. And issuing the circulation means pushing the law and the constitution away.”
Discussants said the government was under widespread criticism over several issues. One is for making permission obligatory for upazila parishad chairmen before they can begin any development work.
The other is for converting upazila nirbahi officers into principal officers, both having the same authority in the upazilas.
TIB Executive Director Dr Iftekharuzzaman moderated the discussion, attended by Citizens for Good Governance General Secretary Badiul Alam Majumder, TIB Trustee M Hafizuddin Khan and politician ASM Abdur Rob.
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