Decentralization of Governance and Local Governments in

Bangladesh

29 February 2012Civil Service College Dhaka

Presentation byDr. Muhammad G. Sarwar

Email: sarwar_mg@yahoo.comCell: 01821443741

Presentation Contents• Decentralization of Governance and Local

Governments• Centralization vs. Decentralization of Governance• Decentralization of Governance: a theoretical

analysis• Levels of Decentralization• Forms of Local Governments• Evolution of Local Governments in Bangladesh• Bangladesh Constitution on Local Governments• Some observations on the local Government System• References

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Decentralization of Governance and Local Governments: an introduction

• Decentralization of Governance is rooted in democracy and evolved through development of participatory democracy.

• Decentralization of Governance flourished in the Europe with the emergence of nation states in last few centuries.

• Decentralization of Governance in Developing countries started to take roots after decolonization in the 20th century.

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Decentralization of Governance and Local Governments: an introduction (contd.)

• Local Governments evolved parallel with the decentralizations of governance as political/executive territorial units/structures/organizations for local level governance.

• Development process of effective local government depends on evolving effectiveness of local governance.

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Centralization Vs. Decentralization of Governance

• Centralization of Governance: it is a system in which all authority and powers of the government lie in the central/national government.

• Decentralization of Governance: when some authority and powers are transferred to the local levels, it’s called decentralization of governance.

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Centralization Vs. Decentralization of Governance (contd.)

• Decentralization is defined as the transfer or delegation of legal and political authority to plan, make decision and manage public functions from national level to local levels (Rondinelli 1981).

• This definition is narrow in the sense that it is limited to territorial decentralization and exclude the functional decentralization, i.e. transfer of authority from central to peripheral organizations like ministries to attached to attached departments.

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Historical Process of Reasons towards Decentralization of Governance

• Democracy is a prerequisite for decentralization. Modern Democracy born as city states in Greece.

• Concept of modern welfare state gave birth to the concept of decentralized governance.

• Central government far away from people not have adequate knowledge about the local condition and development needs.

• Development programs and projects need local support and popular participation.

• Decentralization as a strategy for coping with secessionist movements.

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Benefits/Objectives of Decentralization• Most important reasons for decentralization are:– Addressing inter-regional economic disparities and ethnic

variations. Economic growth had not been accompanied by equitable geographical distribution in the past;

– Pressure for increased popular participation in development process;

– Failure of centrally planned programs/projects to mobilize resources for local development;

– Strengthening planning/management capacity at the local level;

– Concern about lack of coordination among central government and its field offices;

– The need to mobilize political support from rural areas. 8

Levels of Decentralization• Provincial level such as states in India, USA• Regional level such as Provincial level in

Thailand• District level such as Zila government• Sub-district level such as Upazila government

in Bangladesh• Local level such as Union/municipality/city

government in Bangladesh• Community level such as village government

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Forms of Decentralization

• At least there are four types of decentralization:

1.Devolution2.Deconcentration3.Delegation4.Dispersal

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Forms of Decentralization (contd.)

• Devolution also known as democratic decentralization is the transfer of authority to locally constituted political bodies sanctioned by the national Constitution. Fundamental characteristics of devolution are: – It is autonomous separate level of government over which

central government exercise little/no authority– It has clear and legally recognized geographical boundaries

within which it exercise public functions– It has power to secure resources to perform its function

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Forms of Decentralization (contd.)• Deconcentration also known as bureaucratic

decentralization is less extensive than devolution and mostly administrative in nature. It is usually the transfer of specific responsibilities from centre to its subordinate officials operating outside the capital.

• Dispersal refers to the posting of officials outside the capital without any substantial transfer of authority to them.

• Delegation is the transfer of power by a superior authority to a subordinate in which responsibility lie with the transferring authority, like ministries transfer functions to its attached departments.

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Prerequisite for Effective Decentralization

• Democratic Environment and Political Commitment

• Administrative support and capability• Explicit objectives• Constitutionally given Sufficient fiscal

authority.

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Evolution of Local Government in Bangladesh: its Legal and Political Background

• Pre-Mughal period• Mughal period• British Colonial period• Pakistan period• Bangladesh period

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Local Governments in Pre-Mughal period

• Local governments in one form or another have been in existence in the South Asian subcontinent for centuries.

• Two varieties of self-government institutions, i.e. the headman and Panchayats appear to be operational in rural areas since middle ages.

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Local Governments in Pre-Mughal period (contd.)

• The headman was not an elected official but came from the most dominant family in the village. His importance was due to two factors: all contacts, be it political or administrative, between the villager and authorities had to be routed through him and he was involved in collection of taxes from the village.

• Panchayat was an elected body with executive and judicial functions. But often the headman controlled the Panchayat (Siddiqui 1992).

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Local Governments in Mughal period• Mughal mainly contributed to the development of

urban local government as Mughals gave considerable importance to urban governance.

• Each town included a number of wards or Mohallas. – A Mir Mahalla was appointed to act as a spokesman for

each Mahalla. – The Kotwal, or Chief Executive Officer of the town,

wielded wide-ranging powers including magisterial, police, fiscal and municipal power. He was assisted in performing his duties by two officials:

– a Kazi who was a judicial officer, and – a Mahatasib who was assigned to prevent illegal practices

(Siddiqui 1992).17

Local Governments in British Colonial period (1765-1947)

• During the British Colonial rule (1765-1947) over the South Asian subcontinent, a number of experiments were made with the local government system. All the experiments were intended to devise a system that would serve their imperial interest.

• The major objective of the British in India was twofold:

–maximization of land revenue collection; and –maintenance of law and order.

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Local Governments in Colonial period (contd.)

• Though the 1870 Village Chowkidari Act in Bengal British established union Panchayats to collect tax to maintain Chowkidars (village police).

• Lord Ripon, the Viceroy of India is known as the father of modern self-government in India. His Bengal Local Self-Government Act III of 1885 laid the foundation of local self-government in rural South Asia. It set out general principles for development of local institutions in the future and provided the rationale behind functions of local bodies in South Asia.

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Local Governments in Colonial period (contd.)• Objectives of Lord Ripon’s local government inetiatives were:– Financial decentralization to the local bodies;– Improving administration of local bodies; and– Local bodies for political and popular education.

• 1885 Act created 3 tiers of local bodies in Bengal:– Union Committee for a union;– Local Board for a sub-division; and– District Board for a district. Under the Bengal Self-Government Act 1919, the Panchyant

and the Union Committee were merged into one body called Union Board.

2/3rd members of the Union and District Boards were elected and I/3rd were nominated.

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Local Governments in Colonial period (contd.)

• By the end of the 1920s district boards were functioning under the stewardship of non-official chairmen.

• In the arena of urban local government, British policy resulted in setting-up a municipal administration and giving responsibilities to municipal committees for a number of civic amenities.

• But until the 1870s, officials or their designated representatives ran urban local government bodies. Gradually Municipalities became representative bodies with the promulgation of a number of acts during 1870 - 1947.

• These acts, introduced election as a mode of choosing representative and subsequently extended its coverage. But Chairmen and Vice Chairmen of the Municipalities continued to be elected indirectly by the popularly elected commissioners. 21

Local Governments in Colonial period (contd.)

• Bengal Municipal Act of 1932, strengthened the powers of Municipalities in levying rates and taxes and in the utilization of funds (Siddiqui 1994). But the same act provided considerable powers, to the government and local officials to inspect, supervise and control Municipalities.

• Union boards consisted of two-thirds elected members while the rest were nominated. The Chairman was elected among members of the union boards. The boards were given a number of specific responsibilities including the authority to levy taxes.

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Local Governments in Pakistan Period (1947-1971)

• General Ayub Khan, who seized power in 1958, introduced a system of local government known as Basic Democracy. Basic Democracy introduced a four-tier system:– Union Council– Thana Council– District Council– Divisional Council.

• Except at the Union level all councils were to be elected through indirect voting instead of adult franchise.

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Local Governments in Pakistan Period (contd.)

• One third of the Council members were to be nominated by the Government from the bureaucracy.

• Despite the political motive of the basic democracy, it had a great impact on the development at the Thana level. Following Thana level institutions were established under this program:

• RWP (Rural Works Program), • TIP (Thana Irrigation Program), • Two tier cooperatives (Comilla model), and • TTDC (Thana Training and Development Center).

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Local Government during Bangladesh Period:Bangladesh Constitution on

Local Government

• Article 9: The State shall encourage local government institutions composed of representatives of the areas concerned and in such institutions, special representation shall be given, as far as possible, to peasants, workers and women.

• Article 11: The Republic shall be a democracy ………..in which effective participation of the people through their elected representatives in administration at all levels should be ensured.

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Bangladesh Constitution on Local Government (contd.)

• Article 59: • (i) Local government in every administrative unit of

the Republic shall be entrusted to bodies, composed of persons elected in accordance with law.

• (ii)…..include functions related toa) Administration and the work of public officers;b) The maintenance of public order; andc) The preparation and implementation of plans

relating to public services and economic development

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Bangladesh Constitution on Local Government (contd.)

• Article 60: ……Parliament shall, by law, confer powers on the local government bodies ……

including the power to impose taxes for local purpose, to prepare their budget and to maintain funds.

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Local Governments in Bangladesh under different Regimes

• Shiekh Mujib Period (1972-75)• Zia Period (1976-81)• Ershad Period (1982-1990)• Khaleda Period (1991-95)• Hasina Period (1996-2001)

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Local Governments in Sheikh Mujib Period• Immediately after Independence in 1971, the Basic Democracy

was abolished and the name of the Union Council was changed to Union Panchayat and an administrator was appointed to manage the affairs of the Panchayat.

• The name of Thana Council was changed to Thana Development Committee while the District Council was named Zila Board or District Board.

• Administrative and Service Reorganization Committee (ASRC) in 1972 suggested 3 tiers of rural local governments:– Union Parishad– Thana Parishad, and – Zila Parishad.

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Local Governments in Sheikh Mujib Period (contd.)

• ASRC recommended the following:– Fully elective Union and Thana Parishad based on

universal adult franchise– Zila Parishad would be directly elected body.

However, Chairman and vice chairman could be indirectly elected.

• 4th Constitutional Amendment in 1975: As per 4th Constitutional amendment, the provisions of elected local governments were abolished.

• A district was to be governed by an appointed District Governor.

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Local Governments in Zia Period• A significant change in the local government system was

brought about in 1976 through the Local Government Ordinance. This ordinance provided for a

• Union Parishad for a union, a • Thana Parishad for a Thana and a • Zila Parishad for a district. • The Union Parishad comprised one elected Chairman and 9

elected members, two nominated women members and two peasant representative members.

• The Thana Parishad consisted of the Sub-Divisional Officer being the ex-officio Chairman, the Circle Officer and a Union Parishad Chairman.

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Local Governments in Zia Period (contd.)

• The Zila (District) Parishad was to consist of elected members, official members and women members whose numbers were determined by the government. Its term of office was five years. However, no elections were held and government officials ran the Parishad.

• In 1980, as a result of an amendment of the Local Government Ordinance, the Swanirvar Gram Sarker (SGS), self-reliant village government was introduced at the village level.

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Local Governments in Zia Period (contd.)

• SGS was given such functions as it considered necessary for overall development of the village and in particuler:

• Food production;• Mass literacy;• Population control; • Controlling law and order; and • Settling local disputes.

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Local Governments during Ershad Period (1982-90)

• General Ershad formed a Committee for Administrative Reorganization that made the following main recommendations:– Elected local councils at union, thana and district

level;– Directly elected chairman at UP, TP and ZP; etc.

• Ershed partly implemented the recommendations and made major change in the local government system through the introduction of the Local Government (Upazila Parishad and Upazila Administration Reorganization) Ordinance in 1982.

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Local Governments during Ershad Period (1982-90)

• The Upazila Parishad Ordinance (1982) was particularly significant as this was supposed to help implementation of the decentralization programme of the government.

• Functions entrusted to the Upazila Parishad were:– All development activities at the upazila level;

formulation of upazila plans and programs; and implementation, monitoring and evaluation thereof.

– Employment generation;– Promotion of socio-cultural activities.

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Local Governments during Ershad Period (contd.)

• In the Upazila System, the directly elected Chairman would have the principal authority in running the affairs of the Upazila, his tenure being five years. The Upazila Nirbahi Officer would be subservient to the Chairman.

• After nine years of reasonably effective implementation, the Government of the Bangladesh Nationalist Party, who came to power through a fair election, abolished the Upazila system in 1991.

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Local Government during Khaleda Period (1991-96)

• Within a period of 4 months of taking office, Khaleda Administration abolished Upazila Parishad through the Local Government Ordinance 1991 and formed a Local Government Structure Review Commission.

• Recommendation of the Commission were:a) Two-tier system of local government in the rural areas

(Union Parishad and Zila Parished);b) Thana Unnayan and Samannay Committee;c) Gram Shava at Union level;d) Ward Unnayan Committee; ande) Division of every union into 9 wards.

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Local Government during Hasina Period (1996-2001)

• Hasina Administration formed a Local Government Commission in September 1996. The Commission recommended for 4 tier local governments for rural areas:1) Palli/Gram Parishad2) Union Parished3) Thana/Upazila Parishad, and4) Zila Parishad.

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Local Governments Since 2002

• No significant reforms were carried out in Bangladesh since 2002.

• Local governments are being run largely based on the 1996 Local Government Commission Report.

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Observations on the Local Governments System in Bangladesh

• Bangladesh has always been weak local governments and strong centre.

• Weak local governments have always been viewed favorably by the strong centre.

• It was mostly military regimes initiated significant local government reforms in Bangladesh.

• Historically, the relationship between the central government and the local government in Bangladesh has been characterized by the bureaucratic dominance / control.

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Observations on the Local Governments System in Bangladesh (contd.)

• Main problems of an effective local governments in Bangladesh are:– Frequent changes in the local government

structure with the regime change;– Total dependence of local government on central

government for fund;– Predominance of central government officers in

the local governments;– Absence of people’s participation in local

governance. 41

Observations on the Local Governments System in Bangladesh (contd.)

• Preconditions for establishing effective local governments are:– Maintenance of democratic process;– Constitutional guarantee to local governments; – National political consensus among major political

parties about the local government structure.

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References

• GoB, Bangladesh Constitution, latest version. • Kamal Siddique, 2006, Towards Good

Governance in Bangladesh, UPL• Kamal Siddique, 2008, Local Government in

Bangladesh, UPL• Wahhab, M.A., 2002, Decentralization in

Bangladesh: Theory and Practice, Osder Publication

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Thanks

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