Editorial
Two sets of elected representatives in conflict
Local governance suffers paralysis
Anumber of Union Parishad (UP) chairmen have come out stating that members of parliament (MPs) are hampering their work in the developmental arena at the union level. This is where various development projects are undertaken with participation at the grassroots.
Previously, we had commented on the impediments to proper functioning of upazila parishads due to differences of opinion between MPs and upazila parishad chairmen; leading to a sort of crisis in governance. The passage of the Upazila Bill in November, 2011 had effectively reduced the body's powers while enhancing those of MPs. The current impasse that has developed between UP chairmen and MPs appears to be an extension of the same process. One cannot but be disheartened when one learns of the dual messages coming out of the ruling party. On the one hand, there is much talk about strengthening the seat of governance at sub-district level, on the other the continued erosion of powers of UP chairmen speaks volumes of precisely what government's intentions are when it comes to decentralised decision-making.
What has come to light is that during the past four years, little effort has been made to strengthen local government bodies. Rather, as pointed out by ruling party lawmaker AKM Mozammel Huq recently, "there is no country in the world except Bangladesh where lawmakers' main interest is in test-relief, food-for-work programmes, appointments in local educational institutions, and other money-related activities at local level." That is not why the electorate go to the polls every general election. They take that effort in the hope that public representatives elected to office will be able to work in harmony for greater public good.
The current dreadlock that has developed between UP chairmen and lawmakers bodes ill for governance. Mere talk about making local bodies effective while working to transform them into rubber-stamps will have long term adverse effects for development. Indeed the government has backtracked from its earlier position where it was decided that local-level activities of seven ministries would be run at upazila parishad level. At the end of the day, we are facing a situation where two sets of elected representatives are at odds with one another, which cannot be a good thing for any democratic country.
For all latest news, follow The Daily Star's Google News channel.
Comments