Driving Forces and Barriers

This chapter reveals the main factors affecting resource mobilisation in Bangladesh's Union Parishad (UP), which is the lowest level of rural local government. In spite of the existence of legislative frameworks such as the Local Government (UP) Act, 2009, and policies of decentralisation, UPs face considerable institutional, structural, legal, and financial constraints hindering their ability to generate and control resources locally. The analysis reveals a paradox stemming from interviews with UP officials, community members, and key informants. Although 56% of officials say they have adequate financial autonomy, 44% admit to significant restrictions. Community views often sharply contrast with those of officials. While UP functionaries are fully aware of their legal mandates, weak administrative capacities, poor enforcement mechanisms, and over-reliance on conditional central grants weaken implementation. Most people (62%) think that UPs will not generate enough revenues for adequate service delivery. To deal with these challenges, the chapter argues that a holistic reform package is necessary, which involves greater financial autonomy, better administrative capacity, enhanced inter-governmental coordination, and participatory governance to enable fiscal sustainability of UPs and effectively meet local development priorities.