The multi-year non-lending programme will be executed by the World Bank (WB) in close consultation with the government, civil society and other development partners.

Under the LGSP, the government channels bloc grants to union parishads (UP). Before this, no UP could use its annual allocation of funds without the approval of the local member of parliament.

At the launching ceremony of the programme titled 'Strengthening Local Governance in Bangladesh' at a city hotel, representatives of government, WB, SDC and experts expressed their hope that if implemented properly the non-lending technical assistance can facilitate good governance through decentralisation.

Emphasising the need to institutionalise good governance Mohammad Anwarul Iqbal, adviser to local government, rural development and cooperatives ministry, said, "Local governments have an important role to play in strengthening our system of governance as a whole as they are more responsive to the needs of people living in village or town."

Dora Rapold, ambassador of Switzerland, described the role of local government in her country by saying, "The fundamental principles of the Swiss federal system are based on proportional representation, power sharing and regional and local autonomy. The combination of these features contributes to a peaceful co-existence of different groups."

Abdul Muyeed Chowdhury, chairman of Brac Bdmail Network Ltd and former secretary to the government, said, "The attainment of millennium development goals (MDG) by 2015 hinges to a large extent on improved governance...which in turn depends to a large extent on strong local government system."

In his keynote speech, Muyeed appreciated the LGSP, which has expanded the availability and accessibility of resources to the lowest tier of local government institution.

Constance Bernard, sector director of South Asia Sustainable Development of WB, said strengthening of accountable governance at the community level will have long term impacts on the overall governance environment in Bangladesh.

He said accountability is a system of checks and balance that prevents abuse of executive authority and ensure that difficult decisions are made in a transparent way.

Mohammad Alhousseyni Toure, operation adviser of WB, chaired the programme which was also addressed by Safar Raj Hossain, secretary to local government division, Corinne Huser, deputy chief of mission of SDC, and Junaid K Ahmad, sector manager of social development unit at WB.