Upazila Election System in Bangladesh: A study on Trishal Upazila (Before & After)
Upazila Election System
in Bangladesh: A study on Trishal Upazila (Before & After)
Abstract:
Upazila has become the
focus of administration following the policy of decentralization. Under the new
system the Upazila Parishad is a body of corporate. In a sense, the Upazilas
has replaced the old districts as the pivot of administration. Many functions
which were formally carried out at the district level are now being carried out
at the Upazila level” (Siddiqui,
1991:159). Upazila is the first strong institutional base of local
government in our country. After central government main functions of
development are operated from the upazila level. Upazila is a mid way between
the local and central government. Upazila is also a very important tier of
political-administrative nexus. Local elected politicians and bureaucrats are
an integral part of the governance and policy process of the upazila
administration. So the effective function of upazila depends on the mode of
interactions between the sets of actors; elected politicians and bureaucrats.
Bureaucrats and politicians are both need to be kept accountable with implicit
incentives; but the implicit incentive schemes can be of two kinds; those that
define a politicians (striving for re-election), and those that define a
bureaucrat (career concern).
Nowadays, local government have restructured their institutions, increased their accessibility to citizen and developed innovative strategies for tackling public problems. In this respect, to understand the process of government, how it may be changing and how strategies for influencing policy are affected, we need to know about the relationship between politicians and bureaucrats. As a significant tier of the local government the co-ordination between politicians and bureaucrats in the upazila is very important, simultaneously identification of the patterns of conflict between the two policy implementing actors is very important.
Key Words: Upazila, UNO, Administration, Election, Policy, Act etc.
Chapter –One
Introduction
1.1 Introduction
This study explores whether
democratic Upazila Parishads in Bangladesh have become more responsive to those
who elected them and whether people's expectations about their elected
representatives and their functions to their elected have changed. The study
carried out in eight Upazilas from seven Divisions in Bangladesh. The study has
found that Upazila Parishads in Bangladesh with democratically elected
representatives have largely failed to enhance their rapport with people. The
recently implemented mandatory advisory role for the members of the parliament
(MPs) has complicated the role of the local government and the interference by
MPs in local government affairs has weakened the independence of local
government. The findings of this study reveal that awareness is low, and that
only 30% of respondents were concerned about the roles and functions of the
Upazila Parishad. The data reveals that though the local citizens think that
they are knowledgeable about the roles and functions of elected representatives
and bureaucrats in reality many remain unaware of the roles and functions.
1.2 Background of the Study
UNO is created in accordance with a decision by the
military regime of Lieutenant General Hussain Muhammad Ershad. In 1982, the
Ershad government constituted a committee for administrative reorganization and
reform. One of the committee's major recommendations was to create a
representative body called Upazila Porishod (council) under a directly elected
chair. The government created the position of thana nirbahi officer
(thana executive officer) later renaming it Upazila Nirbhahi Officer—in each of
the existing thanas (later upgraded and renamed upazila) outside the metropolitan
areas. About the same time subdivisions were upgraded and converted into districts. Responsibility for all
development activities at the local level transferred to the Upazila Porishods.
It was also decided that the UNO should continue chair the Upazila Porishods
until an elected chair took office.UNOs were normally posted from among the
senior officers called "Senior Assistant Secretary" of the BCS
Administration cadre. [Manzu-Nul-Huq,
S.K.M., Ahmed, Md. Khabiruddin, Moqbul, Md. Ashraful and Muslim, Syed Naquib
(1987),Upazila Administration & coordination, (Sharbon Prokashani,
Dhaka).]
1.3
Objectives of the Study
·
To
identify the situation before and after of Upazila election
·
To
find out the major challenges of Upazila election
·
To make
suggestions regarding these issues.
Chapter –Two
Research Methodology
2.1 Research Methodology
For
any research, it is essential to define the process involved in designing a
study and to validate how the specific research design that a researcher
decides to use helps to arrangement the collection, analysis and interpretation
of data
. This research will be exploratory in nature while mixed method
approach will be employed which incorporates both qualitative and quantitative tools.
The qualitative approach seeks build a detail and deep analysis of the
empirical situation and at the same time,
quantitative approach (survey) will be used to draw the gross view of
current scenario based on people’s perception regarding the research topic.
Following part sums up the tools and methods to be used in the research:
Table-1: Methodology
|
Tools |
Who and What |
Why |
|
|
Qualitative tool |
Content analysis |
As part of the study, brief review
of available literature and government policies, articles, books, research
papers and other materials related to the research issues will be reviewed |
To know the different initiatives
and previous study. |
|
KII |
Government officers, local
representatives, and members of professional group’s local elite. |
To gather a detail and deep picture
of situation, total KII will be conducted. With the intention to understand
the realistic situation of research areas |
|
|
FGD (FGD participants will include case study) |
Teachers, religious leaders,
worker, day laborer etc. |
To gather in-depth scenario |
|
|
Quantitative tool |
Interview (survey) |
100 voters of focus unions |
To portraying the gross scenario of
the target areas and issues |
2.2
Sampling and Analysis Plan:
A totality of 100 respondents will be selected from the
inhabitants of two specific Union Parishads (Trishal and Osmanpur Union) of Trishal
Upazilla and Kuliarchar Upazila. Collected data will be organized
characteristically and the coding activities will be done manually. Prepared
data will be analyzed statistically with data analysis software ‘MS Excel’ and
‘Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS)’ and will be presented in the
report accordingly. In the whole research process, ethical ground and
confidentiality will be maintained strictly.
Sampling plan for the research is as follows:
Table 2: Sample Size
for Survey
|
Division |
District |
Upazila Parishad |
Union Parishad |
Criteria of respondent |
No of respondent |
|
Mymensingh |
Mymensingh |
Trishal |
6 No. Trishal UP |
Residents of selected Union
Parishad |
10 |
|
No of Total Respondents |
10 |
||||
Table 3: Sample Size
for Qualitative Research
|
Location |
Criteria of respondent |
No of respondent |
Total no of respondents |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
6 No. Trishal UP
|
Elected representatives |
4 (from each UP) |
8 (4x2 UPs) |
|
Community Elites |
4 (from each UP) |
8 (4x2 UPs) |
|
|
Others (Govt. officials/NGO staffs
etc.) |
2 (from each UP) |
4 (2x2 UPs) |
|
|
- |
- |
20 Respondents |
|
|
Case Study |
2 from each UP |
4 Cases |
Chapter –Three
Literatures Rearview
3.1 Literatures Review
and Theoretical Framework
Bangladesh has inherited the colonial
administrative pattern which was mainly created to protect the interest of the
colonial masters. So, various types of changes have been come to our
administration from time to time. As a developed administration, Bangladesh has
relatively a long experience and familiarity with local government and
administration. But an appropriate structure of local governments is yet to be
established in this country. At different times various attempts were made in
Bangladesh to restructure the local government bodies entrusted with responsibilities
and functions. However, the local Government ordinance, 1982 was the basis of
Upazila administration in Bangladesh, by which Thana administration was being
upgraded with a new charter of duties. In 1983, upgraded thanas were well
thought-out as upazilas, but in 1991the upazila system was abolished. Yet the
upazila Parishad act, 1998 which was shaped based on the Rahmat Ali Commission
report regenerated the system. Moreover after the upazila Parishad election on
22 July 2009 followed by the Upazila Parishad (Reintroduction of the repealed
act and Amendment) Act,2009,the upazila administration has been emerged as
central to the field as well development administration. As of April 8, 2009,
the total number of upazila in Bangladesh was 482. One notable endeavor in this
regard was upazila administration that was initiated by general Ershad in
November 1982, as a part of the decentralization policy. This decentralization
journey obviously aim to more participation of local people through local institution
building, like developing local leadership and accountable bureaucratic
officials. Upazila Parishad administration was made the nerve centre of local
government and development. Following decentralization, the Upazila Parishad,
in effect became an important political administrative nexus. Moreover, after a
long time the immediate past caretaker government and present government of
Bangladesh has extensively reformed the administrative system and upgraded the
previous Thana to Upazila and restore the Upazila system to serve as the focal
point of development administration. A new tier of local government called
upazila Parishad (UZP) has been created and a large number of functions have
been devolved to this institution along with the placement of central
government employees at its disposal. Literature on Politicians and bureaucrats
relationship is not available. Prior to that, it was difficult to get data on
Politicians and bureaucrats relationship. (Ferrel Heady, Public Administration: A Comparative
Perspective, Oxford University Press)
3.2 Political and administrative structure
Bangladesh has a unitary form of government. For the convenience of administration, the country is divided into six Administrative Divisions: Dhaka, Chittagong, Khulna, Rajshahi, Barisal and Sylhet. Each Division is placed under a Divisional Commissioner and is further subdivided into Districts with a District Commissioner (DC) as the Chief Administrator. After the administrative reorganization carried out in 1982, the country was divided into 64 Districts. 20 of these Districts existed for a very long period while the rest are the ones upgraded from former Sub-Divisions. The 20 old Districts are now popularly known as Greater Districts. Below the district level there are the Thanas which number 490 in the country. During 1982-1990, 460 of the Thanas were upgraded to Upazilas or Sub-Districts. With the abolition of the Upazila system in 1991, the Upazila Regional Administrative System reverted to the earlier Thana structure. All Divisions and district headquarters and most of the Thana headquarters are urban centers. Below the level of Thana, there are rural micro areas known as Unions (4,451 in number) and Grams or Villages (more or less 80,000). The divisional level is the highest tier of administration, after the national level.
The Divisional Commissioner (popularly known as the Commissioner) is the head of the divisional administration. S/he only plays a supervisory role over all the departments and agencies in the Division, as the divisional office of each department is directly linked to its national office. S/he also coordinates the functions of the district administration in the Division. The Commissioner became involved in development functions only since the establishment of the Regional (Divisional) Development Boards in 1976. The Regional Development Boards are responsible for those projects of the District Boards which the latter cannot finance or do not have expertise to look after. The Regional Development Boards are somewhat less active at present. The District has been the focal point in the administrative system of Bangladesh. The head of the district administration is known as the Deputy Commissioner (or more popularly the DC). The office of the DC is divided into a number of divisions and sections. These include the planning and implementation section, which prepares the Annual and Midterm Plans; the rural development section; and the physical infrastructure section. When construction is small scale, it falls under the jurisdiction of the Thana or Upazila administration. The administrative head of the Thana is known the Thana Nirbahi Officer. The District and Thana/Upazila executives are assisted by a large number of officials as well as professional and technical personnel appointed by the central government. Local government in urban and rural areas is entrusted to bodies elected by the people. Such bodies are called Pourashavas or City Corporations and Municipalities (numbering 286 in 2003) in urban areas, and Gram Parishads/Sarkers Union Parishads or Union Councils Upazila Parishads and Zila Parishads in rural areas. With the passing of the Union Parishad Bill on 4 September 1997 and the Bangladesh. Seven of the largest municipalities, Dhaka, Chittagong, Khulna, Rajshahi, Barisal and Sylhet have been given metropolitan status as City Corporations. For many years these Corporations were run by nominated rather than elected Mayors, although members of the City Corporation Council (Ward Commissioners) used to be elected from the respective wards. In March 1994, Mayors of four metropolitan areas were elected directly by the people. The Mayor of Chittagong was re-elected in 2000; those of Khulna and Rajshahi were re-elected in 2002, while a new Mayor was elected in Dhaka in 2002. Mayors were elected for the first time in the new City Corporations of Barisal and Sylhet in March 2003. The Mayor of Sylhet was the incumbent Acting Mayor by virtue of his being the existing Chairman at the time of the City’s up-gradation from Pourashava to City Corporation. (Siddiqui, 1991).
3.3 Functions of Upazila Administration (1990 – 2008): Upazila Administration functions In Bangladesh During the Khaleda Zia period (1991-1996)-
(Local Government Commission, 1991):
As mentioned earlier, the UZPs stood abolished with effect from November. 1991 after the promulgation of the Local Government (Upazila Parishad) and Upazila Administration Reorganization) (Repal) Ordinance , 1991.
Following dissolution of the Upazila Parishads, the government, by a notification in November, 1991 constituted a high powered “Local Government Structure Review Commission.” The Commission consisted of fourteen members headed by the information Minister as its Chairman. Members of Parliament, academics and senior civil servants were included in the Commission as members.
The notification spelled out the justification of Commission. It held that after the independence of Bangladesh, though several changes look place in local government institutions, there was only partial success in fulfilling people’s needs. In addition, the failure to achieve self-sufficiency through mobilization of resources at the local level, lack of optimum progress in development activities and increased expenditure on non productive sectors raised questions about the effectiveness of the Upazila system, although this was launched to ensure active participation of the elected representatives in the preparation and implementation of development plans and for strengthening the process of indigenous resource mobilizations at the local level. So an urgent necessity was felt to review the existing local government structures, keeping in view the commitments, objectives and policies of the new democratic government. [Local government in Bangladesh (Kamal Siddiqui, 1991) Copyright@ The University Press Limited 2005]
The Upazila Administration main activities concern with:
ü To
ensure people’s participation in development activities through an elected
local government structure,
ü To
identify the outlines for preparing, financing and implementing
development plans at the local level,
ü To
suggest an accountable institutional framework for elected representatives at
the local level,
ü To
review the structure, composition and functions of local government
institutions including the UZP,
ü To
review the manpower, funds and indigenous resources and income of local
government institutions including the UZP,
ü To
review and evaluate the guidelines for development planning at the Upazila
level,
ü To
identify the deviations of Upazila and suggest remedies,
ü To
identify the causes of failure of local leadership and suggest future
perspectives,
ü To
evaluate the necessity of UZPs and the existing relationship between people and
officials at different levels,
ü To
suggest establishment of an effective relationship between local Members of
parliament and local local government
institutions, with the former as partners/advisers of the letter in development
activities,
ü To
prescribe future programme outlines for the overall local government structure;
and
ü To prescribe the relationship between national and local government.
Obviously, the recommendations of the Commission were required to be consistent with institutional provisions on local government as laid down in Article 59 and 60 of the twelfth Amendment of the Constitution in 1991. These two Articles are given below:
Article 59 include-
v Local government
(1) Local
Government in every administrative unit of the Republic shall be entrusted to
bodies composed of persons elected in accordance with law.
(2) Everybody such as is referred to in clause shall, subject to this Constitution and any other law, perform within the appropriate administrative unit such functions as shall be prescribed by Act of Parliament, which may include functions relating to-
ü Administration
and the work of public officers;
ü The
maintenance of public order;
ü The
preparation and implementation of plans relating to public services and
economic development.
Article 60 includes- For the purpose of giving full effect to the provisions of article 59 Parliament shall, by law, confer powers on the local government bodies referred to in that article, including power to impose taxes for local purposes, to prepare their budgets and maintain funds (Local government in Bangladesh (Kamal Siddiqui, 1991) Copyright@ The University Press Limited 2005)
Upazila Administration functions in Bangladesh During the Sheikh Hasina Period (1996-2001) (The Local Government Commission, 1996
The government headed by Sheikh hasina, by a notification in September 1996 constituted a high-powered “Local Government Commission.” The Commission consisted of eight members headed by the Member of Parliament Advocate Rahmat Ali as its Chairman. Members of Parliament, academics and senior civil servants were included in the Commission as members. The high-powered Commission was to make recommendations with an analytical exposition for the reorganization of local government bodies. The terms of reference of the Commission were as follows:
- a. To analyze local government bodies in
the light of past experience with a view to making them more effective and
representative, so that people can participate in development activities easily
and spontaneously.
- b. On the basis of the above review and
analysis, and given the commitment of the present government, to determine the
outline of local bodies and their interactions, with the objective of having a
network of local bodies covering village, union, Thana and district to promote
democratic and decentralized development.
- To determine the functions and
programmers of local bodies at different levels.
- To determine the heads of revenue
expenditures and to identify the sources of income for these.
- To determine the number of staff for
day-to-day activities, their levels, responsibilities and salary structure.
- To determine the sources of finance
and revenue collection procedures for local bodies at different levels.
- To determine the relations between
the national and local government bodies.
h. Besides, in that time the main functions of Thana/ Upazila Parishad are given below
Thana/upazilaParishad: Thana/Upazila is an important unit of administration in Bangladesh. After the abolition of the Sub-Division as an administration as an administrative unit, the importance of Thana/Upazila has increased further. Owing to constitutional provision and in the interests of public service, there is a strong justification for establishing a local government body at Thana/Upazila level.
In view of the above, the Commission recommended that the voters of the Thana/Upazila would directly elect the Thana/UZP Chairman. One member from each Union would be directly elected to the Thana/UZP. One-third of total general members would be women, Who would be elected directly by the voters. The Chairmen of Ups and Paurashavas would be ex-officio members of the Thana/UZP. The officials of Government Departments/Directorates at the Thana/Upazila would be the official members. In addition to the officers-in-Charge of the Police Station the concerned Assistant Superintendent of Police will also be a member. The Thana/UpazilaNirbahi Officer (T/UNO) will be responsible for the executive function of the Parishad. The Commander of the Freedom Fighters at the Thana/Upazila Federation of Cooperative Societies and the representative of the Non-Government Organizations (NGOs) would be members of the Parishad. The UZP would have the following functions:
ü Prepare Upazila Five year Plan, after
coordinating and compiling all the Five year plans of UnionParishads within the
Thana/Upazila.
ü Implement the activities of
government Departments/Directorates.
ü Ensure optimum utilization of surface
water through small scale irrigation schemes (sluice gates, connecting canals,
cross dams, drainage canals etc.).
ü Ensure health services, water supply,
sanitation and supervision of the Upazila Health Complex and monitor the same.
ü Motivate people for expanding
education and supervising and monitoring secondary and madrasah education.
ü Promote cottage and small industries
and provide assistance in this regard.
ü Cooperate with cooperative societies
and NGOs and coordinate their activities.
ü Cooperate in and implement
Programmes for the development of
children and women and promote sports and cultural activities.
ü Undertake programmes for development
of agriculture, livestock, fisheries and forest resources.
ü Review law and order situation and
activities of the police and submit report to concerned authorities.
ü Promote self-employment activities;
provide assistance for poverty alleviation programmes and coordinate existing
activities.
ü Provide necessary help and coordinate activities of Union Parishad.
(Local government in Bangladesh (Kamal Siddiqui, 1991) Copyright@ The University Press Limited 2005: Upazila Administration functions In Bangladesh During the Khaleda Zia period (2001-2006) & Caretaker Government (2006-2008): (The Local Government Commission, 1996)
In this period, the government did take some initiatives to improve economic, welfare development and environment management in local level. On that time, the main functions of local government/ Upazila administration are following:
ü To modify local government bodies in
the light of past experience with a view to making them more effective and
representative, so that people can participate in development activities easily
and spontaneously.
ü To distribute the functions and
programmers of local bodies at different levels.
ü To determine the number of staff for
day-to-day activities, their levels, responsibilities and salary structure.
ü To determine the sources of finance
and revenue collection procedures for local bodies at different levels
ü Promote self-employment activities;
ü Provide assistance for poverty
alleviation programmes and coordinate existing activities
ü Cooperate with cooperative societies
and NGOs and coordinate their activities
ü Undertake programmes for development
of agriculture, livestock, fisheries and forest resources.
ü To Ensure health services, water
supply, sanitation and supervision of the Upazila Health Complex and monitor
the same.
[Local government in Bangladesh (Kamal Siddiqui, 1991) Copyright@ The University Press Limited 2005]
Caretaker Government (2006-2008) period:
The issue of strengthening local governments emerged strongly during the two-year long caretaker government (CG) from 2007-2009, and the caretaker government revived the Upazila system in 2008 through an Ordinance which established the Upazila Parisad as a truly free and independent local government body directly elected by the people, but gave no powers MPs as advisers. Later, it repealed the Upazila Parishad Act as a whole and made a new one, the Local Government (Upazila Parishad) Ordinance 2008.
Upazila Parishad functions in Bangladesh During the Sheikh Hasina period (2009-At present):
Under the 2008 Upazila Ordinance, elections were held on January 22, 2009 in most of the 482 Upazilas of the country, within less than a month of the ninth parliamentary election, to elect a Chairman, Vice Chairman and Members of each Upazila Parishad. Once the newly elected Upazila Parishad were established, the old issue of power sharing between local MPs, bureaucrats and Upazila Chairmen once again surfaced. The MPs were fearful of losing control over the Upazila activities and forced the Caretaker Government to amend the Upazila Parishad Ordinance making MPs as advisers in the Upazila affairs. On 7 April 2009, Parliament passed the Upazila Parishad (Reintroduction of the Repealed Act Amendment) Act 2009, restoring powers of MPs over the councils and making the elected Chairmen virtually powerless. As a result, In November 8, 2009 the High Court (in response to the writ of a Chairman) asked the government: why the MPs should be retained as advisers to the Upazila Parishad, a local government body; why the appointment the MPs as advisers to Upazila Parishad should not be declared illegal, and why the retention of Upazila Nirbahi Officers as presidents of standing committees should not be declared illegal. (Rounaq Jahan) .
The role of Upazila Nirbahi Officer (UNO) was supposed to be limited to secretarial functions of the Upazila Parisad, supported by the new posts of Upazila Chairman, and Vice Chairman (the latter reserved for women, to ensure women’s participations in the Upazila Parisad, although their powers are limited). There are also various conflicts between politicians and bureaucrats in different local government agencies over policy implementation, and resources. Relations between public representatives and officials at the Upazila level are strained because of an unclear allocation of authority, and people suffer as a result poor public services (The Daily Star, April 24, 2010). Moreover, recently the government approved a proposal for an Upazila Parishad Bill to make the UNO the Parishad’s principal executive officer vested with financial powers (The Daily Star, April 20, 2010). Now, even three years after being elected, the Upazila Chairmen and Vice-Chairmen are unclear of their roles in relation to UNOs and local MPs.
According to the new law, recommended by
the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Local Government, elected Chairmen will
be mainly in charge of planning and monitoring development programmes, which is
likely to reduce the role of MPs in local governmen, The views and perceptions
of local citizens are imporant in this regard. The core issue is whether
local government will merely implement national programmes at the local level,
or will be a self-ruled local administration, as defined in the amended
Constitution, under Articles 9, 59, and 60 (Siddiqui, 2005). In this present
pro-democracy climate, it is argued there that local government should be
strengthened. Now the questions are; what is the present condition of Upazila?
What should be the role of elected representatives in the local government and
what are the views and perceptions of local people about the role of their elected
representatives? This study aims to find out the answer of these questions,
with an empirical perspective of local government especially in the case of
Upazila administration as a significant tier of local government in Bangladesh.
[Bangladesh politics problem & Issues, (Rounaq
Jahan)].
Chapter- Four
Findings of the Study
5.1 Present Structure of Upazila Parishad
Each Upazila Parishad (or council) has a chairman, a
vice chairman and a woman vice chairman. All three are elected through direct
popular election. Union Parishad chairmen within the upazila are considered as
the members of the porishod.
The post of a woman vice chairman was created to ensure at least
one-third woman representation in the all elected posts of the local
government.
There is a non-elected administrative Upazila Nirbahi Officer (UNO, or Upazila
Executive Officer; in each Upazila. UNOs are Senior Assistant Secretary of Bangladesh Civil Service (BCS). They act
as executive officer of the upazila under the elected posts.
v The Parishad consisted of:-
- ü A Chairman‐ directly elected by the
people on the basis of adult franchise
- ü Ex‐officio representative members
(all Chairmen of the Union Parishads fall
under the jurisdiction of the upazila)
- ü Three women members nominated by the
government
- ü Official members of selected government
departments specified by the government (without any voting right)
- ü Chairman, Upazila Central Co‐operative Association, and
- ü One nominated member from among
freedom fighters
The Parishad was assigned with a wide range of functions. The functions of the government at the upazila level were divided into two categories‐ retained subjects and transferred subjects. The regulatory functions and major development activities of national and regional coverage fell under the category of retained subjects and were controlled by the central government. All other development activities which were considered local in nature had been recognised as transferred subjects and responsibility for those had been given to the Parishad. Transferred subjects included agriculture and irrigation, primary education, health and family planning, rural water supplies and sanitation, rural works, disaster relief, food‐for‐work programs, cooperatives, and fisheries and livestock development. The retained subjects included law and order, justice, central revenues, large‐scale irrigation, large scale industries, and higher and technical education. A large number of senior civil servants were deputed to the Parishad. The Upazila Nirbahi Officer (UNO), a central government functionary, acted as the head of civil administration and became the Chief Executive Officer of the Parishad . However, there was a conflict of interests between the elected Parishad Chairmen and members of the parliament. The newly elected BNP government in 1991 favoured lawmakers' interests by dissolving Upazila Parishads instead of taking steps to reduce the conflicts. Following the general election in 1996, Awami League came to power and as an election promise, enacted the Local Government (Upazila Parishad) Act 1998. The Act proposed to make the upazila level the most important tier of local government (Habib, 2009). There were certain differences between the 1998 Act and the Act of 1992. According to the 1998 Act, in addition to the elected Chairman, provisions were created for three elected Vice Chairpersons (one of them a woman). Chairmen of all Union Parishads, mayors of all municipalities (if there are any), and women members of the reserved seats would become ex‐officio members of the Parishad . It also created a provision of mandatory advisory role of the local Member of Parliament over the Upazila Parishad activities (Ahmad 1991; Sarker 2006).
However, despite the introduction of the new Act, no election was held during the two consecutive democratically elected governments. Eventually, with an aim to conduct upazila election, the caretaker government of Bangladesh promulgated the Upazila Parishad Ordinance in 2008 and created a Local Government Commission to oversee the activities and performance of the Parishad. According to the ordinance, members of the parliament were removed from the advisory role and two new elected positions of Vice Chairpersons were created (of which one must be a woman). The ordinance also reserved 30% seats for the women. [ Alam, M.M., Ahmed S. H. & Kirsten, W. 1994, Development through Decentralisation in Bangladesh, The University Press Limited, Dhaka
And Field Administration
5.2 Present Functions of Upazila Parishad
The main functions of Upazila parishad are given below:-
ü act as staff officer to the elected
chair assist the chair in supervising administrative/development work and in
preparing an upazila development plan,
ü exercise powers under section 144 of
criminal procedure code, sitting in court to take cognizance of cases, hear
bail matters, grant adjournment, etc., when the upazila magistrate is unable to
attend the court,
ü initiate annual confidential reports
(ACR) of Assistant Commissioner (land),
ü aid in relief work following natural
calamities and receive food and other materials for distribution under the direction
of upazila parishad/chair,
ü supervise and control revenue and
budget administration,
ü ensure the observance of all
government directives on upazila administration,
ü co-ordinate all upazila level
training activities,
ü grant casual leave and countersign
the traveling allowance bills of the heads of all functional departments except
munsiff,
ü act as drawing and disbursing officer
in respect of officers and staff working directly under him,
ü supervise activities of the officers
and staff working under him,
ü enforce protocol
ü Other functions that are entrusted to
him by the government or the upazila porishod/chairmen.
ü Undertaking the planning and execution of “all” development activities at
Upazila level,
ü specifically including the planning and
execution of all rural public works programmes, and
ü Their monitoring and evaluation. The
ordinance does not define which “development activities” are being referred to,
so this could include all or some of typical local service delivery functions
such as water, sanitation, roads, etc. It does also not specify whether
development activities are related to asset creation only, or includes the
delivery of associated services and the maintenance of the assets.
ü Promoting health, welfare, cultural, educational,
agricultural, livestock, fishing, forestry and
ü Employment generating activities and the
co-operative movement,
ü to limit the ability of Upazilas to
actually undertake the delivery of any services associated with these functions
ü Implementing government policies and programmes, with
provisions for the further transfer of functions at the initiative of the
central government
ü Provision for management of the
environment, although it is not specified what this might mean. It is not
clear, for example, if this refers to environmental health regulation. [Ahmed,
N. (2009). Bureaucracy and Local
Politics in Bangladesh]
5.3 Upazila Parishad gives us better
service than Upazila Administration
Basically, Each Upazila Parishad (or
council) has a chairman, a vice chairman and a woman vice chairman. All three
are elected through direct popular election. Union Parishad chairmen within the
upazila are considered as the members of the porishod. The post of a woman vice chairman was created
to ensure at least one-third woman representation in the all elected posts of
the local government.
There is a non-elected administrative Upazila Nirbahi Officer (UNO, or Upazila
Executive Officer; in each Upazila. UNOs are Senior Assistant Secretary of Bangladesh Civil Service (BCS). They act
as executive officer of the upazila under the elected post. At present, Each
Upazila Parishad, Upazila Chairman and Upazila Nirbahi Officer are working in
the same organization. There, Upazila Chairman is political head and Upazila
Nirbahi Officer (UNO) is administrative head.
5.4 Increases service delivery through many welfare activities
But now people can realize that, Upazila Parishad gives them
more facilities than Upazila Administration. Upazila Parishad is more efficient
and effective than Upazila Administration.Now, every Upazila Parishad increases
service delivery through many welfare activities, as a result people are
getting more facilitates than Upaazila Administration.The welfare activities
are given below:
v Welfare activities:
The Upazila Parishad is doing many welfare activities now. Like as-
ü To identify the level of functioning and
the degree of people’s satisfaction
ü Development of the constituency
ü Solution of local problem effectively
ü Strengthening law and order situation
ü Local infrastructure development
ü Helpful to the people
ü Allocation of sufficient budget in health
and education sectors.
ü To prepare development plan
ü To ensuring public participation &
facilities
ü To create strong health care sectors
ü To create strong constructive sectors
ü To
create dynamic plan to ensuring the public service.
Besides,
Tha Upazila Parishad creates a strong accountability of the Upazila Chairman to
the people.
v Accountability: Before Upazila Parishad, the Upazila Administration or TNO
was not accountable to the people, because in that situation TNO was
accountable only his Superior. After Upazila Administration, The Upazila
Parishad or The Chairman of the Upazila Parishad become accountable to the
people because the Upazila Chairman has elected through direct popular election
and the Chairman is also representative of people. And that’s why
accountability of Upazila Parishad has become more effective after Upazila
Administration.
Through the decentralization process Upazila Parishad are
able to create a Strong local government body.
5.5
Strong local government body through Decentralization
Decentralization
The process of decentralization becomes more effective after
Upazila Administration. The decentralization has created to serve the people as
a whole through some process. Such as-
ü accurate and representative information;
ü adaptation of programs;
ü group communication;
ü resource mobilization;
ü local expertise;
ü better utilization and maintenance of
facilities and services; and
ü Cooperation.
To ensure to public service in local government, the forms of decentralization also play a vital role in Local Government or Upazila Parishad:
Devolution:
Devolution refers to the transfer of authority to legally constituted provincial, district and local bodies. It is the most common understanding of genuine decentralization. Through devolution, the central government relinquishes certain functions or creates new units of government that are outside its direct control (UNDP, 1997b, p. 5).
De-concentration
De-concentration means the transfer of responsibility and authority by the central government to regional and local units. This involve appointment and outputting of regional, district and local officials representing central ministries and delegation to those area officials specified functions in their respective fields, with necessary authority (UNDP, 1997b)
Delegation
Delegation is the transfer of specific authority and decision-making powers to organizations that are outside the regular bureaucratic structure and that are only indirectly controlled by the central government, such as parastatals, regional development corporations, and semi-autonomous agencies. Traditionally, delegation has been seen as a way of offering public goods and services through a business-like organization structure
Privatization
Privatization refers to the transfer of public assets, responsibilities and functions to the private sector, including non-governmental organizations (UNDP, 1997b) (Siddiqui, 2000, pp. 35-36).
The main function of decentralization at
Local Government or Upazila Parishad:
o
♦ a
significant commitment by the government to increase beneficiary participation
in rural development programmes;
o
♦
Decentralization of the rural administration structure and mechanism to improve
its capacity to integrate with the local communities;
o
♦
Recognition of the importance of the development of self-reliant groups to
improve the access of the poor to government delivery mechanism of services and
inputs;
o
♦
Initiatives to improve the government's manpower and skills in community
development; and
o ♦ Development of procedural, legal and financial systems/ incentives to encourage the private sector to further involve in rural development efforts.
The review of the decentralization process and the associated macro- and other policy dimensions in Bangladesh points to a number of aspects that need to be accommodated within a comprehensive decentralization agenda in the country. Any piecemeal effort is unlikely to gather the required momentum to initiate a process of cumulative causation that could accelerate rural development and poverty alleviating growth in the country. The identification of the major elements of such a process and their implications are important in the context of evolving an adequate decentralization framework in Bangladesh. [Ahmed, N. (2009). Bureaucracy and Local Politics in Bangladesh]
5.6 Workings of the Upazila Parishad- cooperation and conflict
Local government is based on community governance, and focused on citizen-centered local governance. It is the primary agent for the citizens and leader and gatekeeper forshared rule, is responsive and accountable to local voters. To identify the level of functioning and the degree of people’s satisfaction, respondents were asked two questions ‘what is the present condition of activities of your Upazila and are you satisfied with the existing Upazila system?’ Respondents' data are shown in the following table. Politicians and bureaucrats are an integral part of the governance and policy processes of the administration. The degree of success or failure in governing processes depends on the relation between politicians and bureaucrats. However, this relationship has not been without difficulties. Tension occurs when conflict arises between two actors in the context of policy formulation and implementation. In general, policies are chosen and implemented by both elected representatives (politicians) and non elected bureaucrats. So, the effective function of administration depends on the mode of interaction between the sets of actors − elected politicians and bureaucrats − and they both need to be accountable to people. In this respect, to understand the process of government, how it may be changing and how strategies for influencing policy are affected, we need to know about the relationship between politicians and bureaucrats. The criteria that lead a society to allocate decision making power between politicians or bureaucrats is a major question. The starting point is the premise that politicians are motivated by the goal of re-election goal, whereas bureaucrats are motivated by “career concerns”. So, while politicians want to be re elected, bureaucrats want to improve their professional prospects in the public or private sector which motivates them to perform well whatever tasks they receive (Wilson, 1989). As a result, conflict occurs in policy formulation and implementation process. To identify the conflict between local politicians and bureaucrats in the Upazila administration the respondents were asked the question, 'Do you think that there is a conflict between the MP, Chairman and the UNO? If yes then why and what are the types?' Overall, 67% of respondents thought that conflict existed, 8% held that there was no conflict, and 25% made no comment. The respondents that were silent also assumed that the triangle of conflict existed in the Upazila, but for special reason they did not wanted to disclose their opinion. Why do conflicts arise and what are the grounds of this conflict? In this regards, the following types of conflicts have been identified on the basis of respondents' opinions.
v Ground of
conflicts among MP, Chairman and UNO (Respondents opinion):
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5.7 Find out of problems of
Upazila Parishad
There are some problems occurred in Upazila Parishad. All of these are discussing in following:
ü The study found
that the officials under study claimed that they were not properly treated by
public representatives and even their technical advice was ignored by a sheer
force of majority in the Upazila Parisad meetings.
ü On the other
hand, public representatives equally complained that they were not getting
respect from government officials they deserved and moreover the officials were
always non-cooperative.
ü The level of
education, mental maturity, honesty, proper behaviour, tactfulness etc. which
were pre-requisites of an ideal chairman of Upazila Parishad was hardly found
in sample areas under study.
ü The Upazila
Chairmen were lacking in proper administrative capacity and government
officials lacked proper training and coordination and they were yet to show
appropriate mentality to accept the newly-introduced Upazila system.
ü Some government
officials opined that the post of Upazila Nirbhahi Officer (UNO)- the executive
officer of Upazila should be replaced by a junior magistrate. Inspection was
not regularly done.
ü On many occasions government circulars and instructions reached Upazilas too late and sometimes did not reach at all, all of which created information gap and hindrance in proper discharge of duties of the officials serving in Upazilas
v Power and Authority under Upazila Parishad
Upazila Chairman (UZC) and Upazila Nirbahi Officer (UNO):
Formally, the UNO is to act as the secretary to the UZP. In practice, he has been given widespread powers that can make him more than a chief executive officer. Unlike officers belonging to the transferred departments who, according to formal rules, have to work under the supervision of the UZC, the UNO is apparently outside anybody‟s control at the upazila level. Although he has been transferred to the UZP, in practice the UNO is above it. As already observed, the UNO acts as the main representative of the central government, informing it about anything with which he disagrees. This power can make the UZC and the UNO antagonistic toward each other and encourage conflict between the two. He advises the UZC in the exercise of executive power. He shares equal power as the UZC in financial matters. They jointly operate the upazila parishad fund. He checks almost everything that has to be raised in UZP meetings for decision. Regular consultation between the UZC and UNO is thus considered to be a necessary, if not a sufficient, condition to ensure successful working of the UZP.
Upazila Chairman and UP Chairmen:
The policy process in the UZP is collective, with no one having the scope to emerge as an „omnipotent‟ actor and monopolise policy functions. Power is diffused in the UZP. Under the existing arrangement, the UZC is apparently the „first among equals‟. Since all major actors – vice chairs and especially UP chairmen who are members – in the UZP including the UZC theoretically claim their legitimacy on electoral rationality, they appear to be „equal‟. But the UZC ranks the top for two reasons. First, he heads the UZP; and second, the size of his electorate is almost ten times larger than that of an average UP chairman. The members (UP chairmen), however, are not his administrative subordinates. Nor can they be always expected to agree with his policy priorities. If the UZC has preferences, so do have the UP chairmen. The conflict between the general and specific interests is thus likely to be inevitable. Since the UZC is elected „at large‟, his support base theoretically cuts across different constituent units. On the other hand, UP chairmen may be more interested to safeguard their units‟ parochial interests. The UZC, however, lacks any reserve power to approve any project or programme against which funds can be allocated. Every project has to be approved by a resolution of the UZP. Members of the UZP are thus automatically ensured of certain extra-importance.
The UZC, as observed earlier, is not above the UZP; he is accountable to it. This further restricts his areas of discretion, at least in policy matters. In the case of extreme disagreement, members can pass a no-confidence resolution against him, although they still need central approval to unseat him. But to argue that the UZC always remains disadvantaged vis-à-vis the politicians is probably an exaggeration. He can try to overcome the problem in several ways: first, by relying upon the bureaucracy to control the behaviour of the politicians; second, by attempting to divide the politicians and to secure the support of a faction; and third, by trying to secure the support of the murubbis at the centre. These alternatives are, however, fraught with risks. To resort to the first alternative is to give the bureaucracy an extra-importance. On the other hand, given their lack of strong ideological orientation, it will be extremely difficult for the UZC to retain the support of members (UP chairmen) on a permanent basis. Moreover, to attempt to do that is to alienate the others and, by implications, part of his support base among the electorate. Those who remain alienated may try to organise opposition against the UZC in their units. The third option is not open to all. Not every UZC has access to the centre. Those who have access cannot always be assured of central support. In particular, if the MP considers a UZC as competitor, s/he may align with UP chairmen who have traditionally been considered as „vote banks‟.
The UZC is thus likely to face dilemmas on a continuing basis. He can neither coerce, nor can he easily submit to the dominant preference of the role actors. His success or failure of the UZC thus depends upon how skillfully s/he can balance the conflicting claims of different role actors. Since his scope to exercise authority in a unilateral way is limited, the UZC can probably resort to what can be called „control by consent‟. Yet to be able to do that, he needs some extra-quality such as extreme honesty (not only in a personal sense but in terms of establishing a trustworthy relationship with others) or charisma, none of which is likely to be easily available. [Ahmed, N. (2009). Bureaucracy and Local Politics in Bangladesh]
Chapter –Six
Conclusions and Implications
This study reveals that a strong local government system (where strong coherence is present among various actors) can ensure good governance through transparency, accountability, effective participation and equal opportunities for all. Most importantly, this system can ensure development at the grassroots level, but local citizens lack awareness of this issue. By capitalizing on this gap, central government and politicians establish their control over local government and they use the bureaucracy for their purpose. The advisory role of MPs in local government is to some extent forgotten, and interference by MPs in local government affairs, particularly in development activities, has weakened the independence of local government. MPs often dictate the development activities to be undertaken without consulting with the local elected representatives or assessing actual need. Under the 2008 legislation, at least theoretically, the Upazila Parishad have lost the characteristics of local government bodies, since MPs are authorized to advise on the activities of these bodies. The current law has already given rise to a row between Upazila Chairmen and MPs, and it is likely that this discord will further destabilize the political arena of the country. Ambiguity in role definition and conflicting Interests between bureaucrats and elected representatives render the local government especially Upazila Parishad dysfunctional. A very interesting and unfortunate reality is that local citizens appear to support the advisory role of MPs in local government. They think that as a public representative of the constituency MPs should have a role in local government. So, it is very difficult to confine the role of MPs in Bangladesh to Parliament, though it is generally recognized that as a member of the legislative assembly the first and foremost duty and responsibility of an MP is to make laws and policies. Consequently, the data in this study reveals that the levels of awareness of local citizens are low and only 30% of respondents are concerned about the roles and functions of the Upazila Parishad. The data from Figure 3.4 suggests that although local citizens think that they are knowledgeable about the roles and functions of MPs, more than 60% of the sample are not concerned about the roles and functions of the MPs. Moreover, consciousness varies on the basis of demographic variables such as age, educational status, occupational status and gender. Among the respondents 104 (65.0%) think that MPs should have a role in the local government, but when asked the question in a different way only 47 (29.4%) of respondents supported the same view. This could lead to a much stronger conclusion - that MPs are playing a role in local government that is not clearly defined or accountable, and until locally-elected representatives regain control over development activities, local government will not be fully accountable to its electorate.
Recommendations for these problems
References
- Local government in Bangladesh (Kamal Siddiqui, 1991) Copyright@ The
University Press Limited 2005.
- Ahmad,
A. J. M. U. 1991, Problems of Co‐ordination in Upazila Administration in Bangladesh (Copyright@ the University Press
Limited 2005).
- Alam, M.M., Ahmed S. H. & Kirsten, W. 1994, Development through Decentralisation in Bangladesh, (The University Press Limited, Dhaka).
- Manzu-Nul-Huq, S.K.M., Ahmed, Md. Khabiruddin, Moqbul, Md. Ashraful and Muslim, Syed Naquib (1987),Upazila Administration & coordination, (Sharbon Prokashani).
- Ferrel Heady, Public Administration: A Comparative Perspective [ Oxford University Press]
- Ahmed, N. (2009). Bureaucracy and Local Politics in Bangladesh, The University Press Limited, Dhaka
- Field working in Trishal Upazila, Mymensingh Upazila
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