“A separate budget for the local government (LG) alongside national budget and authority to function freely is of utmost necessity for strengthening the LG bodies”, remarked Dr Selina Hayat Ivy, Mayor, Narayanganj City Corporation while presenting the keynote in a dialogue on Challenges of Financing Development Projects under Local Government organised by CPD on 5 May 2012 at the CIRDAP Auditorium. Professor Rehman Sobhan, Chairman, CPD presided over the session.
In her keynote, Dr Ivy asserted that only a negligible portion of the national budget is directly spent by LG bodies. Citing an example she said, the allocation for LG institutions was 2.59 per cent of the ADP in FY2011. Till date, grassroot level development activities are being controlled and managed by the central government, and therefore, LG institutions suffer from serious resource crisis, Dr Ivy lamented. She also mentioned that scope of the LG bodies to generate their own income is shrinking day by day, which was already limited. She posited that LG should be given the authority to accept foreign aid directly from donor organisations.
Advocate Md Azmatullah Khan, Mayor, Tongi Municipality and President, Municipality Association of Bangladesh highlighted that though the laws framed in 2009 provide the LG bodies authority to generate income, but they cannot avail the opportunity due to the delay in formulating rules and policies in line with the laws. He suggested that 30 per cent of the LGRD development budget should be allocated for LG institutions.
Dr Tofail Ahmed, Local Government Advisor, UNDP suggested formulation of a ‘mother law’ incorporating all laws (there are about 200 laws) related to LG for the supervision of the local bodies and to ensure accountability. He urged for constituting an autonomous permanent LG commission to lay out financial guidelines and also to assist both the government and the LG institutions in implementing those guidelines. Though substantial amount is spent in rural areas through different ministries and agencies, lack of coordination among them results in failing the measure to meet the local demand on a priority basis, he said. In this connection Mr Abu Alam Md Shahid Khan, Secretary, Local Government Division, Government of Bangladesh underpinned the accurate distribution of resources as the main challenge. He also noted that government has allocated 21 per cent of the last ADP for the development activities at the local level but the money was not properly distributed.
Professor Rehman Sobhan stressed the need for a unified system for allocation and management of LG budget. He also suggested to follow the model of Palli Karma-Sahayak Foundation (PKSF) for providing funds to LG bodies in which a bulk amount of money is distributed to various NGOs of the country through the Foundation.
Former Commerce Minister Mr Amir Khosru Mahmud Chowdhury; Mr Fazlul Azim, MP; Mr Monwar Hossain Chowdhury, MP and former Election Commissioner Brig. (retd.) Shakhawat Hossain also spoke at the session.