Democracy is not an end in itself. It is rather a means to an end. Democracy is seen as a critical tool that empowers people to freely express their views on how a country should be governed and ensure their participation in the political, social, and economic development of the country. The real beauty of democracy lies in the premise that collective wisdom is better than individual judgement. This is why collective views when considered in governing a country can lead to better and more effective outcomes desired by the society as a whole.

Social justice demands that everybody in the society should have equitable (not necessarily equal) access to resources and the benefits that are derived from the exploitation of those resources (natural, physical, financial, and social) through a process of dispensation of fairness, equity, and rule of law. Social justice can also refer to ensuring the respect for the human person and the rights flowing from human dignity without consideration of social and economic status of the citizens constituting the society.

Democracy, governance, and social justice go hand in hand. Bangladesh could not make much progress on some important aspects of democracy, governance, and social justice (e.g. ineffectual parliament and lack of transparency in decision making by the executive arm of the government). The country is still embroiled with divisive and often violent politics, without any national consensus on major issues of importance to the governance of the country. This does not augur well for a nation which gained its independence 33 years ago. Three decades are not a short time for a nation and within this timeframe at least some framework conditions for good governance should have been made that could have paved the way for the better practice of democratic principles in all walks of national life.

I believe the ad-hoc and piecemeal approach often adopted by the government in Bangladesh, without holistic and fundamental changes in the political and administrative systems (implying radical reforms in the way the country is governed), is of very little use to tackle the monumental task of nation building in the years ahead. While the population growth rates have declined in Bangladesh over the last two decades, the current population is already huge (more than 130 million). This high level of population puts tremendous pressure on the available resources to make any significant change in the standard of living of the people. This also hampers the government's ability to make provisions for adequate education and training and health and welfare facilities, as well as job opportunities for all seeking participation in the job market.

The country has no doubt made notable progress in improving the macroeconomic environment which has seen an average annual rate of 5 percent GDP growth for over a decade. It has also recorded some improvement in health, education, and social welfare sectors in recent years, due to the efforts of both the government agencies and the NGOs. We have seen a growing civil society, a vibrant private sector, and a relatively free press.

However, Bangladesh is now facing a tremendous challenge for achieving sustainable economic and social development and bringing about significant reduction of poverty. This was reflected in the 2004 UN Human Development Report. The report ranked Bangladesh as 138th out of 177 countries in terms of Human Development Index (HDI) ranking. According to this report, adult literacy rate is still very low in Bangladesh (41 percent) and population below national poverty line is almost 50 percent, while that in India and Pakistan is 28.6 percent and 32.6 percent respectively. So Bangladesh has a long way to go to lift its HDI to a respectable level.

Creation of jobs and consequent increase in purchasing power, especially for the economically and socially disadvantaged, can enhance social justice in terms of the ability of people to access the basic necessities of life and to get out of poverty. The benefits of economic growth and job creation, if widely distributed, will reduce inequality in the society, which could have a positive impact on the cohesiveness of the society (as opposed to divisiveness and conflict).

Bangladesh needs a number of growth centres across the country (not just Dhaka and Chittagong), with a view to expanding the opportunities for economic and social development and reducing urban sprawling and slums that sometimes become dens of crime in the cities. One way to do this is to devolve developmental authority and administrative powers to the local level, with strengthened and effective local governments. This also requires allocation of more resources, both financial and non-financial, to local areas within local government jurisdictions.

Various levels of local government in Bangladesh (e.g. municipal corporations, pourashavas, upazila parishads, union parishads) have become too politicised, and that has resulted in ineffective and inefficient operation of the local government institutions. Party politics has become more important for local government functionaries than real local development in their jurisdictions involving participation of local people. Basically local government system has long been used for the political interest of the party in power, to make the local government representatives as their power base. The effect of all these has been undue benefit seeking by party loyalists and activists from local government institutions to the detriment of the welfare of the people as a whole. For example, granting of contracts and lease of markets (i.e. haats and bazaars) mostly goes to the members and supporters of the political parties occupying local government elected positions. The incidence of tender corruption and rigging is well known in Bangladesh.

Local government can play a more active and enhanced role in improving the lives of the people in terms of better education, health, sanitation, aged care, community welfare, public security, as well as infrastructure development (i.e. roads). Since the local governments are closer to people than the national government, there is an opportunity for them to be more responsive to people's day to day needs and also be more transparent and accountable for their actions if they really want. This is why local government should be kept out of national politics as far as possible.

The incumbent government and the opposition parties have a role to play in developing and nurturing a non-political and effective local government system in Bangladesh that benefits all, irrespective of party affiliations. We need to understand that the national and local issues are not the same and they should accordingly be addressed by different levels of government -- national and local -- without unnecessary politicisation at local levels. A participatory local government can make significant improvement in people's lives at local level through the provision of local infrastructure and other facilities provided these institutions are allowed to function properly without interference by political stalwarts at local and national levels.

People are naturally creative and intelligent and have the survival instinct against all odds and difficulties. So what needs to be done is the release of people's energy and creativity through an enabling environment by those in power (because they have the political, administrative, and legal means to make real changes) so that members of the society can develop themselves in terms of meeting their basic needs and then having a higher standard of living through equitable access to material means and opportunities. Democratic practices and good governance, including the rule of law, help achieve these desired goals of the people.

All opportunities are not yet lost and we need to explore them with an open and inquiring mind in order to make a change for the better.

Abdul Quader is an economist.