Effective local government needed to reach services to people's doorstep: LGRD Minister
The minister made the remarks during a courtesy meeting with Ambassador of Switzerland to Bangladesh Reto Renggli at his office at Secretariat.
Local Government, Rural Development and Co-operatives Minister Dr Abdul Moyeen Khan today (13 September) said an effective local government system is required to deliver government services to the doorstep of people.
"An effective and strong local government system is particularly important to deliver government services to the doorstep of people in a densely populated country like Bangladesh," he said.
The minister made the remarks during a courtesy meeting with Ambassador of Switzerland to Bangladesh Reto Renggli at his office at Secretariat.
Keep updated, follow The Business Standard's Google news channel
State Minister for Local Government Mir Shahe Alam was present at the meeting.
Dr Moyeen said there is no alternative to strengthening local government to institutionalise democracy and ensure people's participation and accountability.
"The foundation of democracy needs to be strengthened at the grassroots level; otherwise, it will not be possible to consolidate the overall democratic structure of the state," he said.
He also stressed the need to transform the country's huge population into skilled human resources and enhance the financial capacity of local government institutions.
The minister said genuine decentralisation is necessary to effectively strengthen local government.
He said local government institutions can be made more effective by increasing people's participation and expanding opportunities for decision-making at the local level.
During the meeting, various issues, including further strengthening the bilateral relations between Bangladesh and Switzerland, strengthening democracy and the local government system, the local government election process, increasing rural women's participation in economic activities, and addressing the impacts of climate change came up for discussion.
Ambassador Renggli referred to the existing friendly relations between Bangladesh and Switzerland and expressed interest in expanding cooperation in various fields.
He stressed exchanging mutual experiences in areas such as enhancing the capacity of local government institutions, increasing accountability to people and women's empowerment.
Briefing reporters after the meeting, State Minister for Local Government Mir Shahe Alam said they discussed various aspects of further strengthening the local government system and institutionally consolidating democracy.
