Local Government Reform Commission
JNC puts forward 15-point proposal to Local Government Reform Commission
The Jatiya Nagorik Committee has put forward a 15-point proposal, including cancellation of electing union parishad chairman by direct votes, to the Local Government Reform Commission.
The committee sent the proposals on Tuesday through a joint statement signed by its convenor Nasiruddin Patwary and member secretary Akhtar Hossain.
The proposals include recognizing the local government as a constitutional organization and it will be transformed effectively, abolishing the single-centred governing system of the local government organizations and following the below organizing structures to ensure effective public service.
A. There will be three stages of local government—Union Parishad, Upazila Parishad, and Zilla Parishad
B. The Zilla Parishad will be the centre of the local government and it will be run like a government.
C. All parishads will consist of directed elected representatives.
D. President and vice president of each parishad will be elected by the parishad members.
E. To ensure accountability, there will be a union and upazila-level monitoring council consisting of locally-accepted people and the local representatives will conduct activities in coordination with the monitoring council on the monthly basis.
The proposals also include making the local government as centre of development activities to turn the local government organizations into self-ruled and pubic representative as the local government system was established in colonial regime giving more priorities to the government than people, amending articles 59 and 60 of the constitution in terms of taking state decisions which will play significant roles.
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The proposals mandate empowering people with constitutional system to withdraw or recall their local representatives to ensure accountability, demarcating the area of local government on the basis of peoples’ need and ensuring classification of services to be provided at the union, upazila and zilla parishad respectively.
Empowering local government with the freedom of planning and drafting budget and all reports related finance will have to be available on websites, digitalising all civic services of the local government in coordination with the principles of the fourth industrial revolution so that people can connect with services and works from anywhere, taking initiatives to turn rural people into skilled manpower to migrate.
Local government will be self-ruled and accountable to the people while the Ministry of Local Government will assist the local organizations, not control, and local government won’t be controlled by any government official or elected representatives.
Students, Nagorik Committee demand July Proclamation by Jan 15
Holding all local elections on a day to check the intervention of the government and stopping the use of political identity and symbols.
Local lawmakers won’t have any scope for playing a role in the local government as their tasks are to enact law, ensure accuracy and accountability in the parliament.
Union parishad chairman won’t be elected by direct votes and the UP members will play the role as chairman by rotation to halt the path of establishing autocracy.
There will be legal provisions for the presence of civic representatives and freedom of expression in the meetings of the local government will be ensured.
Effective initiatives will be taken to reduce the financial demand of poor people to the local representatives who will be honoured with good allowances.
Permanent standing committees like the parliament will have to be formed for the local governments.
1 week ago
Permanent local government commission essential for sustainable service innovation: Dr Tofail Ahmed
Establishing a permanent local government commission is essential to ensure continuous improvement and innovation in the services provided by local government bodies and associated institutions, said Dr Tofail Ahmed, Chief of the Local Government Reform Commission.
“If there is a permanent local government commission it can facilitate the continuous improvement and innovations in the services of the local government bodies and other local government related institutions like LGED (Local Government Engineering Department), DPHE (Department of Public Health Engineering) and Local Government Training Institute,” he said.
“The local government Commission can work as an agent to develop the quality of all the institutions in a composite way,” Dr Ahmed said in a recent interview with UNB.
The Electoral System Reform Commission, headed by Dr Badiul Alam Majumder, in its report submitted to Chief Adviser Dr Muhammad Yunus on January 15 last recommended formation of a permanent local government commission in a bid to strengthen the local government system and bring dynamism in the services of local government bodies.
About this recommendation, Dr Tofail Ahmed explained why a permanent commission here is important to develop a strong and dynamic local government system in the country.
He said elected representatives are serving in local government bodies from city corporations to union parishads.
There are some problems here to control and monitor the elected local representatives from the central-level by national public representatives through only the bureaucratic system, he said.
“So, a quasi-judicial body is required here to ensure justice and define a formula over the fund allocations to the local bodies from the national government, monitor the bodies, oversee the inter-local body relation, settle inter-local body disputes, find solutions to disputes between the local bodies and the government and its agencies, remove inconsistency in the local government laws, help formulate uniform laws for local bodies,” said the local government expert.
He said local government representatives are often sacked or suspended for political reasons.
“Dismissing local body leaders unnecessarily –--whether it may be unjustly or justly— through bureaucracy is indecent, " he said.
Read: Stakeholder Consultation on Local Government Reform held
There should be a provision and institution (a permanent commission) to remove local body representatives in a decent way for corruption or dishonest activities, said Dr Tofal Ahmed.
“This permanent commission is important as it is a centralised government in our country and no other public bodies other than local bodies outside the government,” he said.
About local government laws, if there is a permanent commission, it can suggest and guide the local government division and the government regularly to reform the laws and local body electoral system over time.
Dr Tofail Ahmed said the Constitutional Reform Commission rightly wanted to see the local government as a constitutional body.
“I think it is very appropriate. If there is a permanent commission for a constitutional body – local government, the government won’t require formation of local government commission to seek reports repeatedly,” he said.
He said his commission has yet to take the decision for placing a recommendation over enactment of a uniform law for all types of local government bodies. But the commission is now considering the decision as there are five basic laws and more than 100 subordinate laws for the five types of local government bodies.
He said there is a question that if the local government can’t truly run upholding the rule of law due to so many laws.
Read more: Local government reform committee chief highlights key issues in reform dialogue
“Now the local government bodies can’t run de jure rather run de facto way. The rule of law doesn’t work there (in the local bodies),” said Dr Tofail Ahmed.
About the disputes between local government bodies and the related institutions, the chief of local government reform commission said there might be disputes with the DPHE, LGED or Water Supply and Sewerage Authorities (WASAs) over various matters like water supply, sewerage management, canals and roads. If there is a permanent commission, it would be able to play role in settlement of the disputes,” he added.
Dr Tofail Ahmed said all the three commissions formed over the local government in the past since the 1990s, also recommended for a permanent local government commission.
The commission headed by Nazmul Huda was formed in 1991, the second one headed by Advocate Rahmat Ali in 1996 and the third one headed by AMM Shawkat Ali in 2008.
Later, a permanent local government commission, led by former secretary Fayzur Razzak, was formed in late 2008, following the recommendation of the Shawkat Ali commission to oversee the local bodies. Two other members of the three-member permanent commission were former secretary Hedayetul Islam Chowdhury and Chittagong University's teacher Dr Tofail Ahmed.
But the permanent commission got abolished as the Awami League government did not ratify its ordinance promulgated by the 2007-2008 caretaker government.
Following the fall of the Awami League government on August 5, 2024, the current interim government formed a number of reform commissions in different sectors.
Read more: Local Government Reform Commission to propose crucial changes
The present government formed the five-member Local Government Reform Commission, headed by Prof. Tofail Ahmed, through a gazette notification on November 18 last.
Dr Tofail Ahmed commission is also set to recommend for a permanent local government commission for the sake of a vibrant local government system in Bangladesh.
The commission will submit its report to the interim government at the end of February next, said its chief Dr Tofail Ahmed.
2 weeks ago
Local body elections could be held on single day to cut costs: Commission
The Local Government Reform Commission is likely to place a proposal for holding all the local body elections in a particular area on a single day to reduce the election costs.
“It is also being considered whether elections for all local government bodies in an area can be held on the same day. It will reduce the cost of elections,” said Chief of the Reform Commission Dr Tofail Ahmed.
Local government reform committee chief highlights key issues in reform dialogue
He was addressing a views-exchange with media persons at the National Institute of Local Government in the capital on Monday.
The Local Government Reform Commission formed by the interim government on November 18 last is supposed to submit their reform report within the 90 days after the formation.
Noting that Tk 23,000 crore was spent on various local government elections between 2021 and 2024, he said if the elections were held in a single day, it would have been possible to hold these elections at a cost of Tk 6,000 crore.
In this case, there will be no direct election to the post of chairman or mayor in a local body, rather elected members or councilors would elect its chairman or mayor, he added.
Citing that there is no system for local government, he said there should be a unified electoral system for all types of local government bodies to bring these under a system.
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“If the local government bodies are brought under a parliamentary-like system (not holding a direct election to the chairman or mayoral post of a local government body), it will be easy to arrange elections,” said the commission chief.
Now there are different types of electoral systems for Union Parishad, Upazila Parishad and Zilla Parishad.
Dr Ahmed said his commission is thinking about a number of reform proposals, including scrapping the provision of using political parties’ symbols in the local body elections and reducing interference of local MP in the functions of local bodies.
“There is a line in the circulars that come from the ministries over the development projects of the local government bodies to consult with the local MP, which should not be there,” he said.
Dr Ahmed also said they are considering placing a proposal in their report to formulate a unified law for all types of local government bodies.
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Raising the views of people from outside Dhaka, Dr Ahmed said his commission is gaining the opinions from the people outside Dhaka to prioritize the arrangement of local body elections.
As per the opinions they (reform commission) get outside Dhaka, people are prioritising local government elections. But it is not being heard much from politicians in Dhaka, he said.
“The local leaders of parties that are demanding early (national) elections are talking about two elections (local body elections and national election). Some are talking about local government elections first…some are talking about national and local government elections on the same day,” he added.
The commission chief said the opinions of people at the local level are that they are in a vacuum and not getting services from local government bodies ( in absence of public representatives). This is why they think that local government elections should be held now. This opinion is also shared by the local leaders of political parties, he added.
1 month ago