Dhaka February 15 2025 :
To make the local government system more effective and democratic a dialogue titled ‘Local Government Reforms in the Light of Democratic Decentralization and People’s Aspirations’ was organized by the Governance Advocacy Forum and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) held on Thursday at Chittagong.
The speakers in the dialogue discussed and made recommendations on the need for local government reform, the challenges of democratic decentralization, and various aspects of improving the quality of public services.
Integrated Social Development Effort (ISDE) Executive Director SM Nazer Hossain said, “The current interim government is working on reforming the local government system. Discussions and movements have been going on on this issue for a long time, because local government reflects the expectations and needs of the people. We want the local government system to be made stronger and more effective through reforms.”
Aniruddha Roy, focal person of the Governance Advocacy Forum, highlighted the history of local government reform and said, “A committee was formed in 2007 to reform the local government system. At that time, we held a dialogue with 27 related organizations and 40 proposals were made. Later, almost all of those proposals were implemented, although two were left out.”
He also said, “We want overall development of Bangladesh. The existing inequality with the marginalized population must be eliminated. Initiatives must be taken to reduce the complications in receiving services. We must ensure that the local government system is more people-friendly and effective.”
The participants in the dialogue raised six main proposals for local government reform. Among them, emphasis was placed on increasing the power of local governments, decentralization of the service system, reflecting public aspirations, and reforming the political structure.
Representatives of different political parties, businessmen, journalists, engineers, and local government representatives, as well as people from different classes and professions of society, participated in this dialogue. They expressed their views on the need for local government reform and gave various directions for solving the problem.
The speakers said that to make local government truly effective, administrative reforms are also needed along with political decisions. The power of local government representatives must be increased and their participation in public services must be ensured.
The dialogue also said, “It is very important to eliminate the inequality that exists among people. Effective initiatives must be taken to decentralize services. The departmental level proposals must be highlighted in the national dialogue and the public aspirations must be reflected through changes in the political structure.”
The dialogue was presided over by ISDE Executive Director and CAB Vice President SM Nazer Hossain while it was moderated by Governance Advocacy Forum Coordinator Kaniz Fatema, and featured guest speakers including journalist M Nasirul Haque and Governance Advocacy Forum Facilitator Aniruddha Roy. CAB Chittagong General Secretary Kazi Iqbal Bahar Saberi delivered the welcome address. Former District JEZ Jasim Uddin, former Chairman of Engineers Institution Chittagong Center Engineer Delwar Majumder, former Director of Chittagong Chamber Mahfuzul Haque Shah, Professor of Forestry and Environmental Science of Chittagong University Dr. Khaled Mizbahuzzaman, Coordinator of Gana Sanghati Andolan Chittagong Hasan Maruf Rumi, Central Joint Secretary of Jatiyatabadi Mohila Dal Fatema Badsa, Head of the Faculty of Business of Southern University Professor Sirajul Islam, Professor of Law of Premier University Sanjay Biswas, President of Private Practitioner Association Dr. Ahidul Islam, Former President of Union Parishad Chairman Association Nur Mohammad, Former Chairman of Boalkhali Kadurkhil UP Mohammad Idris, General Secretary of CAB Lakshmipur Parveen Halim, Vice-President of Greater Unnayan Sangram Committee Engineer Md. Ibrahim, President of CAB Chittagong South District Alhaj Abdul Mannan, CAB Chittagong Metropolitan Joint Secretary Selim Jahangir, Hathazari Upazila UP Women’s Forum President Laila Yasmin, CAB Youth Group Abu Hanif Noman, CSDF Coordinator Shampa K Nahar, among others.
Representatives from Cox’s Bazar, Bandarban, Rangamati, Khagrachari, Noakhali districts also participated in the dialogue.
