Noman Mosharef :
The ‘Ward Sabha’ (ward council) is considering as a parliament in the Bangladeshi Rural Local Government System (RLGS) where the people’s representatives are accountable to the voters. The voters’ also have opportunity to express their complaints and demands to their guardian. But lack of proper planning halted to hold such ‘ward sabha’ (ward councils) in almost all Union Parishads (UPs) across the country.
In the process of decentralization of power in Bangladesh there are a three-tier institutional network known as zila parishad (apex tier), upazila parishad (intermediate tier), and union parishad (the lowest tier).
The Bangladesh government has enacted The Local Government (UP) Act 2009 (hereafter called the UP Act) with a new provision known as a ‘ward sabha’ (ward council) in each of its electoral constituencies. A ‘ward’ composed of all the voters of the respective ward. According to the law, each UP will have nine ward sabhas in nine of its component general or electoral wards by attending of 5% of the people registered as voters of the ward.
The law also said that there is an obligation to arrange two open ward sabha meetings in a year. The people representatives in Union level who formerly known as Chairman claimed that financial shortage and many other problems are hindering to arrange the ‘ward sabha’ (ward councils).
Khulna’s Dumuria’s Ragunathpur UP Chairman Monozit Bala said recently they have arranged ‘ward sabha’ (ward councils) in their area.
Same district’s Koyra’s Bedkashi UP chairman Aser Ali Morol said we have got money for holding five ‘ward sabhas’ (ward councils), but we are thinking to arrange nine ‘ward sabhas’. And we will arrange the rest of money.
Over the ‘ward sabha’ (ward councils), the local government experts said the ‘ward sabha’ is considered to voters’ as the forum of accountability of the people representatives.
They said the vision of the ‘ward sabha’ (ward councils) has failed to bring expected outcome in local government level. Local government expert Dr Tofail Ahmed said it’s a good initiative. People will go there only if there is an accountability forum.
He said the Member of Parliament (MP) and the upazila chairman should participate in the ‘ward sabha’ (ward councils). Let them explain what they did. And then people will say what else needs to be done.
