The case of local government

Tofail Ahmed
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There is left no state in the modern world that does not have some kind of political and administrative institutions at the sub-national levels precisely known as 'Local Government' (LG) units. The LG is such an institution universally known all over the world as governing mechanism below the central and regional levels. There is no state which is totally centralised and all powers are concentrated at the headquarter and vice-versa. Still the choice is political. There are some that choose to decentralise more than the others. The degree, nature, extent and types of decentralisation differ substantially from state to state and government to government.

'Local Government' as term and concept is markedly different from all other sub-national or local level governing and service delivery systems. In some countries, 'the de-concentrated local extension of the central government, and traditional local power structures utilised for supporting the field administration have been misconstrued as being equivalent to local government'. To fulfill the complete meaning of the connotation 'LG', it has to fulfill the following conditions:

* It is constituted under the law and subject to the law of the land,
* It can frame some of its own laws and raise taxes within the broader framework of the law of the land,
* The territorial sub-division of the state will have a measure of authority,
* The unit so organised will be self-governing political organisation with roots within the territory for which it has jurisdiction,
* It will not be governed by the agents of superior government or governments,
* The institutions will be democratically elected and follow democratic procedures in taking decisions.

The European Marxists add a new dimension to the LG by introducing the concept of 'local state' which is interchangeably used with LG. Since the early seventies the theory of the 'local state' got a greater boost and currency in the literature of local government and local political studies. The local states thus become an instrument of capitalist reproduction on the one hand and a new terrain of class struggle for the subordinate and non-ruling classes on the other. The LG and the local state are now used interchangeably as the states at meso and micro levels as compared to the state at central or macro level. Thus local state provides not only the space for political participation rather it has become a central focus of political activism.

Political space and LG
Politics is a built-in social process exists in all the human societies irrespective of its ideological hue. In the liberal democratic societies the ideological underpinning is relatively pronounced and tends to follow some of the familiar pathways. The LG historically has been playing a crucial role in the practice of democratic ideas and ideals. Almost all the grand theorists of liberal democracy regard 'local democracy' as a necessary condition for the sound health of 'national democracy' and LG as institutional devise can become the hub of local democratic practices. The first function that local government promotes is political education towards internalization of democratic norms and values. According to the liberal political school, local government creates a definite space for necessary political education and training.

Decentralisation contributes to establish political stability through social harmony and community spirit together with the political education. It is very commonly argued that larger communities make the realization of democracy more difficult. As size increases, the proportion of citizens that can participate directly in government decreases. The local government can fill this gap by providing the local space for participating in national and local level political as well as decision-making process. Side by side with the reasonable space created by LGs in the areas of political education, training and political stability, it also creates opportunity for accountability. The experience from Indian LG system tells us about another very important space through which the social exclusion problem was addressed effectively. The backward social groups such as women, Schedule Castes (SCs) and Schedule Tribes (STs) got their voices heard and emerged as governing partners through the political space created within the LG. The LG provided an effective political space for flexing their political muscles, which they used in pressing many of their issues at the regional and national political system.

Space abused
In Bangladesh, local governments are allowed very little political space that they deserve and through which it can contribute to political education, governance, political stability and greater democratisation of the social and political system. The national space has been continuously occupied by centralised and authoritarian politico-administrative elites. The military regimes obviously initiated LG reforms from the perspectives of the legitimization of authoritarian army rules but subsequent development of the civilian regimes from time to time brought to power through mass movements in essence did only promote an 'illiberal brand of democracy' and did not at all willing to leave local spaces for local political forces. They tried to occupy the local spaces in a more aggressive way for achieving their centralised power mongering goals heavily relying on a patron-client relationship merely to enroll the local henchmen.

Descriptions of the regimes like Ayub (1959-1970), Mujib (1972-1975), Zia (1976-1980), Ershad (1981-1990), Khaleda (1991-1995), Hasina (1996-2001), Khaleda (2001-2006) and Hasina (2009 onwards) continually provide the evidences of the above statement. Local space through LG is a politically recognized reality. But in our case all the power players from the centre wish to occupy and control the local political space and tensions stem and emanate continuously from that very occupancy syndrome. The immediate tension the nation is witnessing regarding the operatioalization of Upazila system is a crude example.

Wind of reform lost the way
The civil society in Bangladesh could create an environment towards drastic reform in the local governance sector by their various movements since the beginning of the new millennium. The non-party Caretaker Government (CTG) during their two-year tenure(2007-2008) responded to the issue but could not handle it with firmness as they lack proper and legitimate political mandate. The initiatives the CTG took were formation of an Independent LG Commission, enactment of Upazila Parishad Ordinance , amendment and enactment of new uniform City Corporation Ordinance, Pourashava Ordinance, New Union Parishad Ordinance and holding elections of Upazila Parishad and Pourashava under new legislations. They only could complete few Pourashava elections and Upazila Parishad elections. Almost all the reform agenda suffered a setback in the hands of the newly elected government from 2009. Winds of reforms changed directions. The Ninth Parliament (2009-2013) did not ratify the legal changes brought by the CTG in 2008. As a result LG system in general went back to the square one. The old conflicts between the central political and administrative elites and independent political actors at the local level resurfaced. Local government and decentralisation champions conceded a miserable defeat for the time being.

Some says, the battle is lost for the time being, the war is ahead and eminent. It has to be won. The limited political space provided by the local government for last fifty years is not wasted totally. It is not possible for any political regime to ignore the grass root expectation in a longer duration. This may bring political instability, unrest and imbalance in the total system of democratic governance. The country is already started facing a situation of mis-governance at the local levels. Overlapping functions and duplication of role and authority among different actors like local Members of Parliament (MP), elected representatives of Upazila Parishad and bureaucracy resurfaced and contributing towards a chaotic governance situation. The MPs, newly elected Chairs and Vice-chairs of Upazila Parishads, Upazila Nirbahi Officers (UNO), Union Parishad Chairs are now four competing parties pulling local administration to four different directions. At the end the MP and UNO rule and local government leaders are conceding retreat.

The grave governance situation developing at the sub-national and grassroots' level needs to be addressed pragmatically. It is not only destabilising the local social fabric, it is surely contributing to the perpetuation of a distorted political and administrative culture. The outlook of ruling and opposition both the political parties towards local governance, local development and local politics need to be revisited by themselves. The current stalemate at local governance may not offer a good political dividend rather becomes a liability at the end. The old and traditional patron-client relationship in central -- local political relationship is not as effective as it used to be. The hither to labeled "client"s are turning themselves into a more autonomous and independent social forces. The dynamism created in local economy over a decade having a substantial impact on the traditional mode of clientalist local politics. The traditional patron-client relationship is not going to work in its traditional form, because the chain is broken and new socio-economic relationship has been emerged. Locally developed socio-political classes are ready to occupy their own spaces with their own right and might. It is wise to leave the old occupancy and forge meaningful coalition with the rising social forces. The new social forces need to be recognized and due share of power should be given to them. This will contribute in establishing a healthy social and political system in the country. The political spaces exist at Unions, Upazilas, Zilas, Municipalities and Cities should be left to those who deserved to be there. It is unwise to be there as aggressors and occupiers. Sooner the central politico-administrative elites understand the situation, the better result the nation can achieve in the sphere of healthy local and central governance.

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Dr. Tofail Ahmed, former professor of Public Administration, University of Chittagong and also former Member, Local Government Commission.

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