Khulna, Dec 24 (V7N)- A exchange of views on local government reforms was held at a local hotel in Khulna this morning (Tuesday). Local Government Reform Commission Chairman Professor Dr. Tofail Ahmed was the chief guest.

In his speech as the chief guest, the chairman of the commission said, local government is an old institution but none of us believe that it is working properly. Many have proposed structural changes in local government. The country's government is parliamentary, but our local government system is according to the presidential system. Our local government has not developed as a system. Rather, some isolated institutions have only been created. Union, Upazila and District Councils, Municipality and City Corporation are working differently. The election system, structure and laws of the local government institutions in our country are different and inconsistent. He said, in the current structure, local government institutions have become single-person dominated. Whatever the chairman or mayor says, happens, and council sessions are not conducted properly. Although the main work plans of the institutions are formulated, they give less importance to them. There is an opportunity for detailed discussion on the use of party symbols in the local government elections, reserved seats for women, educational qualifications for participating in elections as public representatives, etc.

He further said, the July Revolution has opened the door to new possibilities for us. There is a lot of blood and sacrifice here. If we cannot get the results of this, if we cannot utilize this time properly, then it is far from certain whether such an opportunity will ever come again. That is why it is necessary to formulate the proposals for local government reform with great sincerity.

Local Government Reform Commission member Ferdous Arfina Osman, Advocate Abdur Rahman, Dr. Mahfuz Kabir, Mashhuda Khatun Shefali, Dr. Mohammad Tariqul Islam, Ilira Dewan, Professor Dr. Kazi Maruful Islam, Additional Secretary of the Local Government Department AKM Tariqul Alam, Khulna Divisional Commissioner Md. Firoz Sarkar, Director of the Local Government Department of the Divisional Commissioner's Office Md. Tabibur Rahman and Khulna Deputy Commissioner Mohammad Saiful Islam were present at the exchange of views.

The participants' speeches highlighted the issues of making citizen services in local government institutions people-friendly, redefining the scope of work in line with the needs, keeping institutions away from the influence of national politics, and creating a conducive environment. At the same time, the participants emphasized on eliminating the reluctance of educated, intelligent, and positive-minded people to participate in local government elections, bringing women's representation to a reasonable level, economic empowerment of institutions, transparency in income and expenditure, making the village court system more people-friendly, formulating sound development plans in institutions, and bringing more coordination in development work.

The exchange of views was attended by current and former public representatives, university teachers, government officials, civil society and NGO representatives, student representatives of the anti-discrimination student movement, and media workers. The event was jointly organized by the Local Government Reform Commission, Local Government Department, Khulna District Administration, and the United Nations Development Program (UNDP).

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