Strong local government vital to implement SDGs: analysts

Empowering the local government institutions is the key to implementing the sustainable development goals (SDGs), speakers said at a programme yesterday.

“I don't believe there is any local government body. In reality, they are run and controlled by the government directly,” said Akbar Ali Khan, a former adviser to a caretaker government.

The members of parliament act as advisers to the upazila parishad despite opposition from different quarters, and the central government runs the union council and pays salaries to its employees.

The district council is there, but no election has been held so far, he said at a discussion on localising sustainable development goals, organised by the Brac Community Empowerment Programme and the Hunger Project at the capital's Brac Centre Inn.

A local government institution is a small partner of the central government, and not an instrument of the government.

Khan said the civil society is under pressure because of their criticism of the government.

The function of the civil society is to criticise the government, but the government cannot tolerate the criticism, he said.

Subsequently, he urged the local government bodies to set their priorities straight, such as preventing child marriage and providing safe drinking water.

Salehuddin Ahmed, former governor of the central bank, said the local government bodies should not be overburdened with the job of implementing the SDGs.

Adopted by the member nations at the UN General Assembly in September, the SDGs have 17 goals and 169 targets that will come into effect on January 1, 2016, replacing the Millennium Development Goals.

There will not be any strong local government unless the influence of the lawmakers is reduced, he said.

Ahmed also proposed for formation of a finance commission for the local government so that they can run independently.

UN Resident Coordinator Robert Watkins stressed the need for mobilising domestic resources to implement the SDGs as the assistance provided by the developed nations is on the decline across the globe.

Bangladesh will soon become a non-LDC, so there will be less international funds for the country, he said.

As the country has to rely mostly on its own resources to implement the SDGs, using the money efficiently has become imperative, he said.

On monitoring implementation of the SDGs, Watkins said the civil society in Bangladesh can play the biggest role.

Lilia Tverdun, a director of Helvetas Bangladesh (Swiss Intercooperation), said there are too many plans in Bangladesh at present. They need to be synchronised for effective implementation of the SDGs.

Badiul Alam Majumdar, global vice-president and country director of the Hunger Project, shed light on the background and implications of the SDGs in a keynote presentation.

The SDGs were adopted to strengthen universal peace, free humanity from poverty and heal the planet, he said, adding that they cannot be implemented with a segmented approach.