The Local Government System in Bangladesh: An Anatomy of Perspectives & Practices

Abstract

Bangladesh inherited a colonial model of local government system as it was under the rule of the British Raj and Pakistan for 190 and 24 years respectively. As matter of fact, several attempts have been taken during various regimes since independence for strengthening local governments through decentralization. Despite those efforts, it has been broadly criticized for its over-centralization. Nonetheless, over the last few years, the country has been seen to go through some major reform efforts in strengthening the role and capacity of local government institutions (LGIs). More specifically, a range of decentralization programs and projects have been undertaken through the collaborative efforts of government and development partners. On this backdrop, this study attempts to analyze the local government system in Bangladesh, with the intent to identify whether the current local government system is constraining the performance of local governments. The study is qualitative in nature and data has been collected by reviewing various secondary sources adopting content analysis techniques. Drawing on the shreds of evidence from the available literature, the study argues that despite the recent decentralization initiatives, the current local government system in Bangladesh is in no way facilitating the pathways for the effective local governance of LGIs. Rather its functioning is inhibited for various underlying factors like- excessive deconcentration and delegation with limited devolution; Interfering role of MPs in local governance; conflicting functional assignment of LGIs and line agencies; inadequate resource mobilization and high central dependency; a dearth of adequate staffing in LGIs and absence of coherent legal framework.