For the Government of Bangladesh (GOB) minimizing conflict and balancing power among the Members of Parliament (MP) and the Local Government Representatives (LGR) have emerged as the main challenge among the issues related to Governance and Democracy. Union Parishad (UP), an assembly consists of nine wards or villages, is the long and properly practiced Local Body of Bangladesh that headed by an elected Chairperson. Other organized Local Bodies are City Corporations and few hundred Municipalities. Municipalities are mainly working in the rural town i.e. district head quarters and Upazilla (sub-district) headquarters. Before 1971, the year of the independence of the Nation, there was an administrative tier named sub-division between District and Thana (presently Upazilla).
The demands of time are decentralization of both development activities and authority. In connection of this thought concept of Upazilla Council came into development and administrative scenario, which will be governed and administered by elected people’s representative. The elected people’s representatives are largely known as Local Government Representative.
In city Corporation governance process MPs have no important role except talking about the issues in the parliament. But in rural Bangladesh, MPs have many things to do and advise. Municipalities were working in the said environment and Upazilla Councils were also working under direction of MPs when it was came in to enforcement in 80s of last century at the regime of Military autocrat HM Ershad.
In 1991, the year nation came back in to parliamentary system from presidential rule, the Upazilla system was suspended and again it was realized by the politicians that the tier of local government is an essential for uniform development around the country. Unfortunately this system was not reintroduced in the tenures of Sheikh Hasina and Khaleda Zia; they were Prime Minister of the Country from 1996 to 2001 and 2001 to 2006 respectively. The military-backed interim government of 2007-2008 amended rules, regulations and acts related to Upazilla Council and fixed time for election and most importantly, new law bars MPs even advising the Upazilla councils under their constituencies.
Now, Bangladesh has elected political government with overwhelming majority in parliament and elected Upazilla Chairmen around the country. Government and mostly the MPs are not intending to make LGR out of their grip. Moreover, MPs have commitments related to development in their respective constituencies. But law concerned said that Local Government like Upazilla Council, which is a body, consists of elected representatives from Union Councils and Municipalities covered by the map concerned.
Many concepts are generating among people concerned to resolve the conflicts, contradictions and imbalances among MPs and LGRs. Many of governance experts, development professionals and rights activists are saying that MPs are to making, enacting and amending Law and Acts and to oversee the total governance & Development process and of course to raise voice on behalf of people they represented and nation as well. LGRs are to propose, prepare and implement development projects. Now question arises that what would be the fate of MPs development commitments.
Government, as of the desire of MPs, intending to ensure minimal level of role for MPs to the Upazilla System, but Upazilla Chairmen would not be comfortable in that case. Experts advices are that government should ensure MPs role in District Council. For development commitments of the parliamentarians, a contingency fund allocation could be put in to national budget for each of them. This fund will be utilized to fulfilling their commitments. As MPs have no project implementation scope, local bodies would be responsible to utilize the fund as instructed by the concerned MP. In this case a strong District Council, if possible headed by an elected Chairperson, should be introduced; the council will work as a local planning body and oversee the activities of Local Governments and LGR as well. Again MPs are not comfortable as District Council Chairperson enjoyed the status of a Deputy Minister evident in past for those District Council Chairperson who were appointed by the government. For an MP, to be a District Council Chairperson has no problem as there is no bar from the law of land. Again LGRs are uncomfortable.
A large number of governance specialists suggested that MPs could be advisor in district council level. Another conflict among MPs and LGRs is based on power, especially on the issue of social power practice, which is linked to the political power. Naturally MPs are more powerful in their respective parties. LGRs are mainly from local level of party structure. MPs are scared about that they are going to lose their control over the local unit of party as there are powerful elected leaders working at local level. LGRs are afraid that if the senior leaders like MPs do not cooperate at party rank & file, they must face problems in power structure in terms of social, political and administrative. People related to the issue of governance, democracy and development mentioned that government should resolve the issue as soon as possible as the nation has now elected representative in parliament and Upazilla level. Failure would be catastrophic for the nation, they added.
Kazi Mohoshin Al Abbas
The author is a freelance journalist based in Dhaka, Bangladesh. He can be reached at mabbas1961@yahoo.com
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