Editorial
Local government autonomy
Key to participatory democracy
The Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) has talked about freeing the local government system from the direct influence of the Members of Parliaments (MPs). We understand, the main objective behind the move is to allow the system to become autonomous so that it can run its own affairs with greater efficiency. In this regard, a fresh law has already been drafted by the government, which would empower a chairman of the Upazila Parishad to plan and carry out development activities, without looking upto the local MP. It may be mentioned here that earlier the commission on strengthening local government system had recommended for non-interference of the MPs.
The past history of the parliamentary system of government shows that most of the MPs, immediately after election, got involved in all sorts of developmental activities in the constituency, not always with the best of intentions. There have been allegations of the MPs lobbying at the highest levels for numerous projects and funds, and exerting pressure on government officials concerning construction or supply related tenders. To be candid, many of them were often found to be more interested in negotiating deals in the locality than attending parliament sessions.
There is no denying that once made autonomous, the local government components, such as the Upazila Parishad (UP), will have full authority to plan and undertake developmental projects as per the genuine need of the people, discarding the useless ones. At this point we may recall the recent media report on nearly three thousand bridges lying unused across the country. Surely those were not built in consultation with the people of the area.
We believe the new law will usher in a new era of bottom up governance, which will not only strengthen democracy at every tier, but will give participatory democracy a free play. Autonomy of the local government system will ensure MPs giving more time to law making in parliament, which is the very reason why they have been given the mandate by the people. We believe if further fine-tuning of the draft law is deemed necessary, it should be done to reflect wider public opinion on the points at issue.
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