Citizen-centric governance has been widely practiced by many Western countries, especially during the past few decades. Developing countries like Bangladesh, however, still lag far behind in this area. This mode of governance may be defined as a process in which ordinary citizens take part - whether on a voluntary or obligatory basis and acting alone or as part of a group - with the goal of influencing decisions involving significant choices that affect their community. According to the United Nations, citizens' participation in public administration implies their involvement in a wide range of policy-making activities, including the determination of levels of service, budget priorities, and the acceptability of physical construction projects. This is done to orient government programmes toward community needs, build public support, and encourage a sense of cohesion within neighbourhoods. The UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs and its Division for Public Administration and Development Management claim that citizen engagement in public administration implies the involvement of citizens in decision-making process of the state -- through measures and/or institutional arrangements -- so as to increase their influence on public policies and programmes for a more positive impact on their socio-economic lives.
The UN Conference on Sustainable Development held in Brazil in 2012 had emphasized effective governance at local, regional, and global levels by representing the voices and interests of all and enhancing the participation and effective engagement of civil society. An enabling environment for citizens' participation in governance requires information-sharing, consultation process, and a role in decision-making related to public administration. The United Nations High-Level Panel of Eminent Persons on Post-2015 Development Agenda urged in 2013 for increased public participation in political processes and civic engagements at all levels, and ensuring the citizens' right to information and access to government data. Then in the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development adopted by the United Nations in 2015, Goal-16 and Target-16.7 emphasized citizens' participation in the realm of public administration. Goal-16 called for promotion of peaceful and inclusive societies for sustainable development, providing access to justice for all, and building effective, accountable, and inclusive institutions at all levels. Target 16.7 urged the member states to ensure responsive, inclusive, participatory, and representative decision-making at all levels.
The Seventh Five Year Plan (2016-2000) of the Government of Bangladesh (GoB) also incorporated citizens' participation in decision-making as a strategy for enhancing the capacity of public administration. Headlined 'Citizen feedback/public grievance redress', it stated: "The government shall establish mechanisms for citizen feedback regarding government performance. These measures will provide citizens with the opportunity to provide information to senior management on front-line service providers. If implemented in a relevant, efficient, and responsive manner, it can represent a powerful tool for improving government performance at the local level". A separate branch was established in the Cabinet Division of GoB for facilitating a central Grievance Redress System (GRS). Provision of necessary logistical and personnel support was also envisaged for this set-up, so that it could handle all public grievances reported by the citizenry. However, the planned measure has miserably failed to deliver expected results till now.
The Citizen's Charter initiative launched by the GoB in 2007-08 was also aimed at facilitating citizens' involvement in the delivery of public services. Preparation of Citizens' Charter is important for protecting the rights of citizens, especially in utility organizations, alongside stipulating performance standards. Through this, an organization can inform people about the types and amount of services it intends to provide within a specific time-frame, so that the consumers can receive services accordingly. It was in fact one of the key recommendations of the Public Administration Reform Commission (PARC) that submitted its report in June 2000, which called for introduction of Citizen's Charter in all service-providing public organizations in order to enable citizens to know about their rights and ensure the commitment of organizations to deliver services and value for money.
Although it received much publicity in the past, the concept is yet to get a strong foothold in Bangladesh, and there is need and scope for a thorough review as well as reforms in the area. One of the viable options that can be explored is the establishment of 'Committees of Concerned Citizens' in all service-delivery organizations of Bangladesh. Such a consumer-based platform could lend a much-needed voice to the relevant customers on the working of those entities, their missions, visions, objectives, strategies, processes, outputs, and outcomes. Besides, establishment of the office of an Ombudsman as per constitution with branches across the country can also strengthen participatory governance.
Increasing citizen participation is sometimes seen as a means of increasing the efficacy of regulations, improve the provision of public goods and services, and bolster outcomes in areas such as health and education that straddle the boundaries between public and private, social and individual jurisdictions. If young people continue to demand greater engagement with the institutions that affect them, and digital technologies continue to make information more accessible, we can expect both the demand for avenues of cooperation as well as the potential of its contributions to rise (Archon Fung: Public Administration Review, 2015).
Participation of citizens in governance is also viewed as boosting the democratic legitimacy of governance processes and advancing the cause of social justice. It is in the context of the latter that direct citizen participation faces greatest challenges. There exist designs for citizen participation that would, in many instances, lead to public decisions or social actions that benefit those who are currently disadvantaged socially and economically. The challenge is therefore political, as most organizations and leaders who possess the authority and resources to strengthen participatory governance may simply lack the motivation to advance social justice through such measures. In fact, the challenge for those who seek justice through participation is a political challenge rather than an institutional design problem. Conditions should therefore be created under which powerful leaders and organizations are motivated to advance social justice and thereby facilitate the reaping of optimum benefits from participatory governance, which would ultimately advance the interests of the common citizens.
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