I hope the PM and her government pay heed to, and act on, The Daily Star’s April 14 editorial “Upazila chairmen’s desperate call for empowerment.” It is not simply a question of sharing of power andresponsibilities between the elected local governments and the national legislators. Functional and independent local governments are indispensable for the development of Bangladesh beyond Dhaka (and other big cities); and they are not only required to meet national priorities but also to save Dhaka from implosion.
Development strategies based on the rational use of human and natural indigenous resources in rural Bangladesh could help to meet our national priorities, such as food and energy security, health equity and environmental protection. The prerequisite for this is a functional and independent local government system.
Even though this is a constitutional requirement and was an election pledge of both the current government and the opposition, it is a matter of concern that even one year after being elected the upazila chairmen and vice-chairmen do not know what their responsibilities are and where they stand with respect to upazila nirbahi officers (UNOs) and local MPs.
It is of concern that the government has given a compulsory advisory role to MPs from rural areas in upazila development matters but not to MPs elected from urban areas in development activities of municipalities and pouroshovas. This is discriminatory and demeaning to elected upazila chairmen who also have to defer to UNOs in upazila administrative matters.
Part of the reluctance to empower local governments in rural Bangladesh stems from the fear of the major political parties that the local government system had been used in the past by unrepresentative and unelected regimes to foist their own parties and political systems on the nation, and the fear that local politicians with administrative and financial independence may not be as easily manipulated as MPs located in Dhaka, which could erode the traditional power base of national politicians.
There are a number of anomalies that need to be addressed to reduce conflict between different tiers of government and within the national parliament itself. The unease and mistrust that exist between upazila chairmen and MPs largely stem from the fact that both have been elected by the same electorate and on the basis of similar promises made to the electors.
The PM has promised to delineate specific and distinct roles for upazila chairmen. However, the prevailing unease is unlikely to dissipate in the future without clear definition of the role, if any, of MPs in local development activities.
The MPs in the current parliament are now playing important roles both in the house and in the standing committees. They realise that implementation of local development plans should not be their preoccupation but they still keep their finger in the development pie as they have to keep their promises to the electorate. Moreover, they rightly feel that they should not be totally divorced from development activities that impact on their constituents.
Conflict resolution between different tiers of government is not enough; it also needs to be extended to the national parliament. Major reforms are required in parliament in terms of culture and composition if it is to reflect the true wishes of the people, and if it wishes to be an instrument of social and economic justice.
A parliament where over 70 percent of the members come from the business community, and their ability to spend heavily in elections can neither be representative of the demographic distribution nor can its members easily place national interest before financial ones. An effective parliament requires a more diverse and talented representation, if necessary from outside the two major political camps. This is not likely to happen as long as election outcomes depend on money and muscle power.
The first-past-the-post system of parliamentary election, a Westminster legacy, resulted in brute majorities in the last two parliaments, which was not reflective of the actual percentage of votes won. This made the opposition insignificant and almost redundant, and resulted in rancorous and unseemly behaviour, frequent walkouts and prolonged boycott of parliament in the last two parliaments.
The system of “choosing” female MPs for reserved seats by elected MPs creates two classes of MPs in parliament, and is demeaning to women MPs who are selected by their mostly male peers. This, together with the need to be noticed by their party leaders, might have contributed to the overaggressive and unseemly behaviour exhibited by some new MPs in the last sitting of parliament.
Till such time that gender parity is achieved the reserved seats for women must continue, but the number of seats need to be increased to at least one reserved seat for each district and the candidates must be elected directly by the entire district electorate.
The foremost task for reducing or eliminating any potential conflict of interest would be to delineate the respective electorates and jurisdictions of the elected local government officials and MPs and bring about some changes in the process of election of MPs. The following suggestions could help to resolve, at least to some extent, some of the problems that stand in the way of good governance and development.
While the local government officials would continue to be elected from their respective upazilas and unions, all MPs should be elected from a zila-based electorate. This would reflect the higher jurisdiction of the MPs.
MPs (for regular parliamentary seats) from any district would be elected from a multi-seat zila-based electorate on the basis of proportional representation. The number of parliamentary seats in any zila-wide electorate would be based on the population of the district. To minimise the influence of money and muscle the election campaigning and finances could be managed by the Election Commission.
Female candidates for reserved seats should also be elected directly from zila-based electorates and not by their parliamentary colleagues, as is now the norm. They must be given status and privileges equal to their colleagues both in the parliament and in the district.
Government development funds should be allocated on the basis of need not to MPs but to the zilas, from where they should be sent to the upazilas and unions on the basis of submitted 5-year development plans. All upazila chairmen and MPs in the district should be members (or ex officio members) of the Zila Parishad. To allow MPs to remain involved in zila-level activities they should be allocated local offices within the zila administrative complex rather than in upazilas.
The 5-year development plans for each upazila and constituent unions should be prepared by the elected upazilla and union representatives and brought to the Zilla Parishad for discussion, coordination and final ratification in consultation with their counterparts from other upazilas and all MPs from the district.
The elected MPs of the district should have an advisory and moderating role in the above process, and will act as the advocates and champions of the district’s overall needs and aspirations in the national parliament (instead of pleading for each individual road or culvert in their earlier, much smaller, upazila-based constituencies).
The upazila chairman will be in charge of all development activities in the upazila, and will oversee the implementation of the approved 5-year development plan through the UNO.
The female MPs and the female upazila vice-chairpersons (from reserved seats) could together form a very powerful lobby and advocacy group for women’s and children’s rights both at the local level and in the national parliament.
Properly defined and delineated electorates, jurisdictions and roles of MPs and local government officials could result in better functioning local governments. Election of MPs from a manageable zila list through proportional representation will prevent brute majorities in the parliament.
The lessening of the influence of money and muscle together with proportional representation could see the election of worthy MPs from outside the two major political camps. The direct election of female MPs for reserved seats will accord them respect and status equal to their parliamentary colleagues.
Source: http://www.thedailystar.net
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