Citizens' participation in rural local government in Bangladesh: Through the Lens of Sherry Arnstein
The participation of people in decision-making is a core value of democracy and good governance. But how involved are Bangladeshi citizens in the affairs of their own local rural government?
In Bangladesh, there are many different forms of local governments. There is a three-tiered hierarchical structure for rural parts, with Union Parishads (UPs) at the bottom, Upazila Parishads (UZPs) in the middle, and Zila Parishads (ZPs) at the top. There are Pourashavas (small city governments) for semi-urban regions and city corporations for major cities when it comes to urban areas.
Additionally, three hill districts, often known as the Chittagong hills tracts, have a unique style of local governance. The article focuses on people's engagement in decision-making, particularly at the first and second levels of rural local governments in Bangladesh.
The participation of people in decision-making is a core value of democracy and good governance. Participation can improve the level of legitimacy and justice in the institution. Civic engagement is necessary for citizens' needs and demands to be met efficiently and effectively, especially at the grassroots level. So, this issue should have the ultimate priority because citizens' participation is a prerequisite for ensuring a functioning democratic local government.
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In the context of development initiatives, Cohen and Uphoff (1980) defined participation as "people's involvement in decision-making processes, in executing programs, their sharing in the advantages of development programs," and their involvement in efforts to assess such a program.
Every single citizen ought to have the opportunity to be an active participant in the democratic procedure taking place in their community. Essential to democratic local government is the equitable distribution of authority, choices, and resources.
Recently, the government of Bangladesh has brought a series of changes to ensure people's participation in the decision-making of the rural local government. To understand the extent of people's involvement in rural local government and existing issues, we need to see the existing mechanisms of People's/Citizen's Participation in local-level government decision-making.
Firstly, participation through elections: In the Union Parishad Level and Upazila Parishad Level, the election is held regularly after a five-year time period. However, due to the implementation of the party-based voting system for the UP and UZP chair seats, the most recent UP and UZP elections were held in 2016 amid great controversy over the dominance of political party men. At the Zila Parishad Level, there is no provision for the participation of the people in the election process.
Secondly, participation through meetings: According to the Local Government (Union Parishad) Act (2009), there is a provision for people's participation in the rural local government decision-making process through the open budget and ward-level meetings. However, according to prominent studies, these open meetings are held only to comply with legal requirements rather than allowing the public to have an essential say regarding the content of the proposed budget.
Apart from that, people who attend the meetings frequently need a clearer understanding of what the meetings are addressing and, thus, feel they need to be more engaged. So, whatever is placed before a meeting regarding budget priorities is more or less approved.
Thirdly, participation through standing committees: Under the requirements of the Local Government (Union Parishad) Act (2009) and the Upazila Parishad (Amendment) Act, respectively, the UPs and UZPs must both establish standing committees (2011). There must be 13 committees for the UPs and 17 for the UZPs.
The legislative provisions for the participation of the general people of the community in these standing committees opened up an avenue for mass people to participate in their own governance. However, only people with good connections with the chairs or members of the UPs or UZPs have been included as members. The studies also found that the members of these committees need to understand their roles clearly.
Sherry Arnstein, in 1969, described a "ladder of citizen participation" that showed participation ranging from high to low. The ladder is a guide to seeing who has power when decisions are made. The ladder is divided into three stages from bottom to top: No-participation, Degrees of Tokenism and Degrees of Citizen Power.
The higher the status of participation, the better. While linking the discussion above to the status of people's participation in rural local government in Bangladesh, it is clear that the participation is at the lowest level, called non-participation by Arnstein. Arnstein said that in this stage, people's participation aims to cure or educate participants. It is a way to prove that the proposed plan is best, and the goal of ensuring participation is to achieve public support through public relations.
We have previously discussed that in Bangladesh, only those with a certain degree of social influence can get involved in open meetings or standing committees. The participation of the influential persons is only ensured to let them know what is happening and to validate those activities to them so that they may not create any problems later. For this very reason, the participation of the poor section of society in the decision-making process is overlooked.
To improve the situation, the capacity building of the mass people is mandatory so that people can have a clear idea of what is going on in their community and what should be done in a true sense. Training for the members of the standing committees can be provided so that they become aware of their roles and responsibilities. Thus, none will be able to manipulate their decisions, and the community's welfare will be ensured.
In addition, the participation of the youth could be enhanced in these decision-making processes. The party-based electoral system in the UPs or UZPs elections must be reformed to ensure the participation of the majority of people in the polls. Lastly, the forming process of the Zila Parishad body should be amended so that people's participation is ensured and this body becomes more democratic.
Md Sohrab Hossen is a senior research assistant at James P Grant School of Public Health, Brac University.
Md Obaidullah is a field research assistant (temporary) at James P Grant School of Public Health, Brac University.
Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the opinions and views of The Business Standard.
