How long till municipal services become normal?

Next month, local government bodies—city corporations, municipalities, upazilas and unions—will have been without elected representatives for two years, a situation almost unprecedented in Bangladesh’s history. Meanwhile, the absence of elected bodies is hampering citizen services. According to a report by this newspaper, the current government-appointed administrators are often not as accessible or cannot remain as available as elected officials, and without the latter, decision-making has become slow at many municipalities. In addition, over 31,000 out of a total of 50,000 municipal posts remain vacant, and several municipalities cannot recruit staff due to fund shortages, thus further delaying service delivery.

The situation is so dire in some municipalities that citizens have to wait several months to even file a complaint. Some municipalities are operating with less than 20 percent of their required staff. For instance, Jagannathpur municipality in Sunamganj has 156 approved posts; it currently has only 21 employees working. Similarly, in Bandarban municipality, 107 of the 179 approved posts are vacant. On top of these shortages, some staff have to carry out dual responsibilities. This happened especially after the July uprising in 2024, when many Awami League-affiliated mayors and councillors were arrested or went into hiding. In August 2024, the interim government, through Local Government Division orders, removed the elected mayors and councillors of 323 out of 329 municipalities and appointed administrators in their place. In the remaining six municipalities, too, AL-era administrators were replaced.

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Most of the administrators appointed by the interim government had to take on the role of the elected representatives in addition to their existing administrative responsibilities. Some officials are even overseeing the duties of several municipalities at a time. As a result, citizens often find the administrators unavailable when they reach their offices with complaints or service requests. Consequently, obtaining essential documents such as birth or death certificates and trade licences is taking longer than before, while waste management and road maintenance have stalled in many places.

Thankfully, the Election Commission is planning to hold local government elections from October this year, starting with unions and municipalities. While that would solve the leadership crisis to some extent, the solution to staff shortages is another matter. The now-defunct Local Government Reform Commission, formed by the interim government, recommended the decommissioning of several municipalities established without justification and which cannot cover their own expenses. The BNP government should look into those recommendations and help municipalities overcome their manpower shortages. It must also ensure that the 2024 political changeover does not continue to inconvenience citizens because of delayed services any longer.