Zila Parishad chairmen and members cannot hold posts after the 5-year tenure on any excuse as per the draft of the Zila Parishad (Amendment) Act 2021, which was approved by the Cabinet on Monday. The approval came in a virtual meeting of the cabinet held with Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina in the chair. The PM joined the meeting from her official residence Ganobhaban, while others got connected from the Bangladesh Secretariat. Also read: Balanced development: Govt creates 3 new upazilas in 3 districts “Zila Parishad representatives will have to leave their posts on the expiry of their tenure. The government would appoint administrator/s to run the local body until the formation of the next council (parishad),” said Cabinet Secretary Khandker Anwarul Islam while briefing reporters after the meeting.

Speakers at a national workshop on Thursday said Bangladesh should strengthen the local government bodies like Zila Parishad to ensure  development and help the country to attain the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) by 2030. The workshop titled "Strengthening Zila Parishad in Achieving SDGs" was jointly organized by the Ministry of Local Government, Rural Development and Cooperatives (MLGRD&C) and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP). Read: SDGs performance: Hasina’s leadership earns huge appreciation Speaking as the chief guest, LGDR and Cooeratives  Minister Tajul Islam said thought the local government institutions are now stronger and more people-friendly than any time in the past, but Zila Parishad still needs further support to build their capacity if we want to achieve the SDGs by 2030. The Minister urged all the development partners to come forward in this regard. “Zila Parishad can solve their problems by utilizing the local resources properly. Coordination with other local government bodies is essential for that,” he said. Nathalie Chuard, Ambassador of Switzerland to Bangladesh, was present in the workshop as a special guest. She highlighted the number of projects supported by the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC), which are currently underway through the partnership Between Bangladesh and Switzerland. "An integrated whole of society approach can ensure inclusive development to achieve SDGs for Bangladesh. I hope that Switzerland's development assistance will continue to strengthen the local government initiatives and implement the Sustainable Development Goals," Nathalie said. Sudipto Mukerjee, Resident Representative of UNDP, said UNDP has been working with the Government of Bangladesh for many years. “We are also supporting the Government to localize the SDGs and also strengthening the capacity of Upazila and Union Parishads.” Chairing the workshop, Senior Secretary to the Local Government Division Helaluddin Ahmed thanked UNDP for their continued support to build the capacity of various local government institutions and hoped the support would continue further to increase the capacity of Zila Parishad. Read: Bangladesh performing well in fulfilling SDGs, but many challenges ahead He said, "In order to coordinate development activities at the district level, capable and people-friendly Zila Parishad is necessary." Earlier, Dr Mobasser Monem, Professor of Public Administration department of Dhaka University, presented the keynote paper on "Zila Parishad: Challenges, Prospects and Way Forward." Among others, Local Government Division officials, representatives from different local government institutions, development partners, academics and experts, civil society representatives were also present.

The election results came out on Wednesday morning. Unofficial election results available so far show the ruling AL candidates dominating the elections and by-elections to Zila,

Elections and by-elections to more than 200 local bodies -- Zila Parishad, Upazila Parishad and Union Parishad — will be held on Tuesday.

Local Government and Rural Development (LGRD) Minister Md Tajul Islam on Sunday urged all to perform their duties with honesty and sincerity to build the ‘Sonar Bangla’ as dreamt by the Father of the Nation and to develop happy, prosperous and hunger-poverty free country.