Devolution for development
Tuesday, 30 December 2008
The upazilla (sub-district) election that will be held next month at the very beginning of the tenure of the new government to be formed on the basis of the people's mandate expressed through Monday's national polls, will be a milestone in forming elected bodies at an important tier of local government (LG) structure. How far this will lead to strengthening of the LG structure will largely depend on the future plan of action by the new government at the national level for ensuring administrative decentralisation and development devolution. Most political parties including two major ones in their manifestos, announced ahead of the national election, stated that they would work for devolving more power, in areas of both administration and development, to the LG bodies, on going to power. If these commitments are not to be considered ritualistic, the future elected government, whoever comes to power, has to take hard decisions about revamping the LG structure for strengthening governance, undertaking development activities and promoting people's well-being at the grassroots. During the electoral campaign for the polls to elect the ninth parliament, the voters in different constituencies have raised their strong voice for development of their respective areas. The electronic media highlighted this issue particularly very well.
But the voters' expectations about improvement of the conditions of their living at the micro-level can hardly be met through election of their representatives to the Jatiya Sangsad (JS) or parliament, the supreme institution for enacting laws and governance-related matters at the national level. The improvements of roads, drainage, and sanitation arrangements, civic amenities, other infrastructural facilities, services in social sectors etc., at the micro-level are the main responsibilities of the LG bodies at different tiers. As such, strengthening of such bodies with adequate financial rights and responsibilities, alongwith an effective accountability framework, is of utmost importance for meeting the people's expectations at the grassroots.
It has, indeed, crystallised over time that devolution of the powers of the government, is very necessary in the context of Bangladesh. The devolution must not be understood also as a way of only loosening central controls in administrative matters to more empowered local authorities. The devolution, to get any benefits from the same, must be essentially of a developmental nature. The same should lead to more resource mobilisation at the local level and also to much greater channelling of resources to enabled and empowered local governments and institutions to utilize well the flow of resources. The greater use of local awareness and expertise in planning exercises can facilitate cost-effective execution of local developmental projects. Hence, the leadership of the political parties who are likely to govern the country next will need to give enough thoughts to these issues and to operationalise a development-oriented decentralization programme, if the coming elected government really means business about promoting people's well-being.
In this context, the tardy approach at the moment to effective administrative decentralisation and development devolution, has to be replaced sooner than latter. The elected representatives in the JS can be sensitized afresh by the media, think-tank bodies and others to prioritize to push up developmental decentralisation higher up in their agenda. The great importance of promoting stronger development-oriented local government should be obvious. About 80 per cent of the country's population have an existence in the rural areas. But the developmental activities at their points of origin are meagre in most cases. Hardly finding economic opportunities where they have always lived, these people in great number have been migrating to the few big cities in the elusive hope of a better life and livelihood contributing to urban or "metropolitan" congestion and squalor. The only way to positively change the lives of this vast and neglected rural population is through taking economic activities or opportunities to their doorsteps. And this would be attainable mainly through a process of devolution for development.
But the voters' expectations about improvement of the conditions of their living at the micro-level can hardly be met through election of their representatives to the Jatiya Sangsad (JS) or parliament, the supreme institution for enacting laws and governance-related matters at the national level. The improvements of roads, drainage, and sanitation arrangements, civic amenities, other infrastructural facilities, services in social sectors etc., at the micro-level are the main responsibilities of the LG bodies at different tiers. As such, strengthening of such bodies with adequate financial rights and responsibilities, alongwith an effective accountability framework, is of utmost importance for meeting the people's expectations at the grassroots.
It has, indeed, crystallised over time that devolution of the powers of the government, is very necessary in the context of Bangladesh. The devolution must not be understood also as a way of only loosening central controls in administrative matters to more empowered local authorities. The devolution, to get any benefits from the same, must be essentially of a developmental nature. The same should lead to more resource mobilisation at the local level and also to much greater channelling of resources to enabled and empowered local governments and institutions to utilize well the flow of resources. The greater use of local awareness and expertise in planning exercises can facilitate cost-effective execution of local developmental projects. Hence, the leadership of the political parties who are likely to govern the country next will need to give enough thoughts to these issues and to operationalise a development-oriented decentralization programme, if the coming elected government really means business about promoting people's well-being.
In this context, the tardy approach at the moment to effective administrative decentralisation and development devolution, has to be replaced sooner than latter. The elected representatives in the JS can be sensitized afresh by the media, think-tank bodies and others to prioritize to push up developmental decentralisation higher up in their agenda. The great importance of promoting stronger development-oriented local government should be obvious. About 80 per cent of the country's population have an existence in the rural areas. But the developmental activities at their points of origin are meagre in most cases. Hardly finding economic opportunities where they have always lived, these people in great number have been migrating to the few big cities in the elusive hope of a better life and livelihood contributing to urban or "metropolitan" congestion and squalor. The only way to positively change the lives of this vast and neglected rural population is through taking economic activities or opportunities to their doorsteps. And this would be attainable mainly through a process of devolution for development.