Speakers at a dialogue here Saturday stressed the need for strengthening the capacity of local government institutions (LGIs) to make those fully functional, democratic and transparent entities.
They also laid emphasis on carrying out reforms in the existing Local Government (LG) system to empower the LGIs at all levels to deliver quality services to citizens.
The policy dialogue, titled ‘Services and Policies of Local Government Institutions’, was held at Nanking Darbar Hall in Rajshahi.
The Upazila Governance Project (UZGP), being implemented by the Local Government Division (LGD), organised the dialogue to elicit public opinion on local governance reforms from local level functionaries, public representatives, general citizens and members of the Civil Society Organizations (CSOs) and NGOs.
The dialogue emphasised more concentration on non-infrastructural areas, major reforms on legal framework, existing LG elections and structure, and removing overlapping functions between LGIs and government functionaries at all corresponding levels such as Union, Upazila and Zila.
Speaking on the occasion, State Minister for Industrie Omar Faruk Chowdhury, MP said that the coordination between public representatives and government officials is a must as the LGIs are playing a critical role in alleviating poverty, achieving the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) and reaching the services to the doorsteps of the people.
Source: UNBConnect
