Municipal Association of Bangladesh works with
Local Government & International Organization deliver the very best
services.
In Bangladesh, the need for administrative
decentralization is necessary in order to achieve good governance. Municipality
is an important tier of local government institutions which has impacts for the
benefits of administrative decentralization. Roles and functions of
Municipality are significant in order to make the benefits of urbanization
available to its citizens. Therefore, the issue of strengthening and empowering
Municipality is vital.
In the developing countries local government
authorities have to play some extra roles in addition to their obligated
functions. For example, they have to promote roles and functions of local
governments among citizens. Central Government quite often delays in devolving
legal authorities and rights to the local government institutions. There is
hardly any initiative to ascertain check and balance between The Parliament and
Local Government Institution in defining their rights and functions.
All the elected Mayors, Councilors and others
officials realize the needs for establishing municipality as an active and
efficient organization in order to improve the lives of its citizens. Keeping
this aspiration in mind Municipal Association of Bangladesh (MAB) was formed on
July 2003 by the representation of a significant numbers of Municipality
Mayors.
Since its formation, MAB has been actively
organizing its efforts by raising united voice for decentralization and
democratization of the local government system of Bangladesh. MAB organized
various seminars and workshops where the issues of decentralization and
democratization were perceived as important agenda. The open discussions and
brain storming sessions also posed multi-dimensional perspectives of the term
“local governance”, in order to turn out from its traditional concept,
originated at colonial centralized system to confer limited responsibility to
local people. Since the modern concept of local governance need to be
translated into the societal platform, the policy advocacy for democratization
and decentralization in local government system is priority of the association.
MAB has implemented a number of activities as
a united platform of the municipalities for the last couple of years. It has
detected the constraints of municipality through consultative process and
placed recommendations to the government in order to resolve them. Besides, MAB
has taken some initiatives to do extremely well in the achievements of the
municipal representatives.
Goal of MAB:
·
To raise united voice
in favor of the whole Municipality of Bangladesh; &
·
To initiate
integration program approach in strengthening MAB platform.
Objective of MAB:
·
To present the real-life
recommendations to the policy level of the government of Bangladesh,
·
regarding the
limitations of the legal framework of the local government management system;
·
To provide need-based
training and technical support to the municipal representatives;
·
To take required
initiatives to develop good impression of municipality activity at all levels;
·
To play a role to
establish an effective local government;
To keep effective communication with local and
foreign organizations & forums and
seeking membership; To implement the projects
of MAB and Municipalities through the joint effort and thus mobilized funding support from the national
& international level agencies.
Rationale
to establish of MAB:
·
Following are the
logical reasons to establish of MAB as organizational platform:
·
MAB feel its
importance that MAB as an effective united organization to represent the
country’s Municipal related issues at national level;
·
Though elected
municipal local government management system is historical but as an
institution not so strong to play an effective role;
·
In the policy making
process and taking decision regarding resource distribution, there is no way to
express interest of the Municipality’s collectively;
·
Though, the
association of Municipal Mayors achieve success a few but already they proved
the justification of organizing such a ‘Municipal Association’. Process of the
implementation of programs of ‘Municipal Association of Bangladesh’ will be
regular through their learning experience;
·
To implement goal
& objective of MAB to develop the organizational strategy at local /
national / International level;
·
Taking measure at
local level to improve the quality of direction to strengthen Municipality, it
means, manpower of the Municipality, Financial power and to ensure
Participatory Democratic Municipal administration;
·
For needful of legal
rectification and regulatory framework, taking programs at Central government
like lobby with the central government, submit demands and ensuring rights to
decentralization of defined all activities for development of municipality and
to ensure resource mobilization;
·
Communicate with
regional/international associations and networks at international level,
exchange information, experience and use learning experience for positive
changes of Municipal Association of Bangladesh (MAB); &
·
Facilitate for
brainstorming & exchange view and opinion to build a effective network of
elected Municipal government of Bangladesh.
MAB has taken the
following working program strategy:
·
Explore to improve the
skill of management and administration of municipalities;
·
Execute activities to
raise and mobilize the resources of municipalities. For this, trying to raise
resource locally, trying to achieve more funds from the central government,
seeking possibilities and maintain communication to reach foreign investment or
donation/ loan;
·
Employ and train
manpower in new issues like as, taking different effective measures including
training for human resources development as if development of the quality of
manpower of the municipalities, urban planning, preservation of environment,
poverty alleviation, keeping the women and child rights;
·
Publish informative
directory regarding detail information of the municipalities of Bangladesh.
·
Maintain communication
and networking in needful different levels;
·
Oversee and develop
the constitution of Municipal Association of Bangladesh;
·
Increase number of memberships
of Municipal Association of Bangladesh;
·
Organize issue-based
meeting, roundtable, dialogue, seminar, workshop press conference relates to
mission and vision of MAB and participate such as program if applicable;
·
Publish MAB newsletter
Pourabarta on quarterly basis;
·
Doing advocacy and
lobby in different level about Local Government Issues;
·
Participate &
produce in TV talk show program, documentary in radio and television on Local
Government Issues;
·
Continuing online help
desk especially on local government issues. Regular update MAB website;
·
Establish ‘Legal
Support Cell’ under Municipal Association of Bangladesh which will provide legal support services;
·
Taking total
activities to improve the standard of development of municipalities. If need,
collect fund from local or foreign organization and use that where applicable;
·
Establish MAB
secretariat in capital city of Dhaka, Bangladesh; &
·
Organize
exposure/study tour at local/national/international level for local government
representatives, government officials, civil society representatives and
representatives from media.
Registration,
Membership and Partnership:
MAB has been registered under Society Act of
the Joint Stock Companies no. S-9094 (20)/2009 and NGO Affairs Bureau (NGOAB)
no. 2642 dated 23/05/2011.
The MAB as an local government association (LGA) is a member of United Cities
and Local Governments Asia Pacific (UCLG ASPAC), International City Management
Association-ICMA, CITYNET, ICLEI South Asia, and Commonwealth Local Government
Forum (CLGF). It has also strategic partnership with Bangladesh Urban Forum
(BUF), member of World Urban Forum (WUF) and Governance Advocacy Forum (GAF)
respectively.
MAB works in partnership with a number of government, national and
international organizations such as Ministry of Local Government Rural
Development and Cooperatives (LGRD&C), Ministry of Finance, Ministry of
Housing and Public Works, Ministry of Home Affairs, Ministry of Environment and
Forest, Ministry of Disaster Management & Relief, Ministry of Law, Justice
and Parliamentary Affairs (MOLJPA) of Government of Bangladesh; United Nations
Development Programmer (UNDP), Comprehensive Disaster Management Program
(CDMP), United Nations International Strategy for Disaster Reduction (UNISDR),
U. S. Agency for International Development (USAID), The Embassy of Royal
Denmark, Manusher Jonno Foundation (MJF), German International Cooperation
(GIZ) and other state-owned development agencies in Bangladesh.