Local Government Institutions (LGIs) are the lowest tiers of government in Bangladesh and are mandated by the Constitution. The LGIs are pivotal to instituting participatory development in the country, and hence could be a crucial instrument in topping the ‘energy’ of the common citizenry at the grassroots level. The Union Parishad (UP) is responsible for public welfare activities at the Union level. While a lot of functions have been given to the UP, these have not been complemented by an adequate authority to raise local revenue through means such as imposing taxes, assessment, collection, etc. to meet the financial need for discharging these functions. There have been relatively a small number of studies that assessed the governance structure of the revenue system of UPs, its linkages with the central government, including revenue sharing, as well as the capacity of LGIs to effectively and efficiently manage and plan revenues and expenditures at the UP level. There is also a dearth of knowledge about the awareness of citizens regarding the roles, responsibilities, and their own roles in helping to establish transparency, accountability, and participatory budgeting and development expenditure systems. The SHARIQUE program has been building capacity in the critical area of budget preparation and management, local revenue mobilization, and development expenditure planning which will at the same time strengthen local governance in this area. This study is a rapid assessment of the effects of the SHARIQUE program in the wider backdrop of the UP level revenue and expenditure system.
Authors: Rahman, Sultan Hafeez; Hossain, Md Shanawez; Uddin, Mohammed Misbah
Type: Working Paper
Year: 2016
