Decentralization in Bangladesh: Change Has Been Elusive

In spite of their long history and constitutional status, local governments in Bangladesh have a poor record of being an efficient, accountable and responsive provider of public services at local level. Over the decades, the local government system in Bangladesh has been “more an area of policy experimentation than one of stable institutional development” (Rahman and Islam 2002: 154). Decentralization reforms are debated every few years under governments of all hues, various committees are launched, recommendations are made, and even piecemeal actions are taken. Yet, to date, an accountable and capable local state that upholds public interests at the local level remains elusive to Bangladesh. This paper analyses the factors encumbering the development of such a local state. It draws both political economy narrative and fiscal data to identify the challenges.