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A provincial government system, as proposed by the public administration reform commission on Wednesday, would create multi-dimensional complexities in the country’s unitary governance system, public administration experts have observed.

Sharing their reactions to the proposed recommendations submitted to the interim government, they told ¶¶Òõ¾«Æ· on Thursday that provincial governance would rather complicate citizen’s access to public service.

The public administration reform commission handed over its recommendations to the interim government’s chief adviser Professor Muhammad Yunus on Wednesday.

As part of a medium-term plan implementable within one to two years, the public administration reform commission proposed introducing a provincial governance system with four oldest administrative divisions: Dhaka, Chattogram, Rajshahi and Khulna, as provinces.

Chapter six of the report states that a provincial governance system would help decentralise the public service management. 

‘Considering the delegation of power, a provincial governance system can be introduced by dividing the country into provinces based on the boundaries of its four old administrative divisions to decentralise public service management for the large population,’ the recommended proposal says.

Public administration experts and political scientists, including university teachers and former bureaucrats, have expressed their concerns over the implementation of provincial governance. 

‘Provincial governance does not suit Bangladesh’s unitary government system,’ said Dhaka University public administration professor Sadik Hasan.

He said that no political parties were familiar with provincial governance, which, if adopted, would generate region-based political factions and widen the gaps between the central ruling authority and regional political powers.

‘Moreover, this system would also create several layers within the bureaucracy and complicate access to public services,’ Professor Sadik said, adding that it would trigger inappropriate competition between the provincial and central bureaucrats.

Political scientist Professor Syeda Lasna Kabir, who teaches at the public administration department at Dhaka University, while welcomed the proposal for decentralisation, said that a provincial governance system is usually for societies with diverse cultures.

Effective governance management and corruption prevention could be achieved through decentralised governance systems, which has many advantages, she said.

‘But decentralisation is more suited to heterogeneous societies, where diverse communities with different cultures and languages coexist,’ she observed.

‘Bangladesh is largely a homogeneous society which contradicts the theories supporting provincial governance,’ she added.

Moreover, introducing a provincial governance system in Bangladesh would bring drastic changes and could delay the other essential reforms and the much-expected national elections, said the political scientist.

Former president of the Bangladesh Administrative Service Association, Anwar Ullah, a senior secretary currently on leave preparatory to retirement, also expressed his concerns over the provincial government recommendation.

He said that the summary report did not clarify whether the formation of provincial governments would be based on geographical considerations or population size.

‘If the four previous divisions are turned into provinces, complications may arise. Would the Chittagong Hill Tracts fall under the Chattogram province? If so, what would be the future of the Chittagong Hill Tracts Regional Council?’ Anwar questioned, warning that ignoring the CHT Regional Council could escalate conflicts in the hilly region once again.

Professor Muhammad Sayadur Rahman from the department of public administration at Jahangirnagar University supported decentralisation as a means to reduce administrative burdens on the capital city.

His observations also echo other experts’ views as he said that attempts to establish a provincial government would pose numerous challenges, including the demarcation of provinces.

‘This would place an additional financial strain on the already fragile economy, as the new administrative system would require budget-intensive infrastructure,’ Professor Sayadur said.

The experts, while stating that most reforms proposed by the commission in public administration are dependent on an elected government, advocated for short-term reforms in the local government system.

Professor Syeda Lasna Kabir while saying that the existing local governance system is still crossing an experimental stage, suggested that the interim government should focus on reforms in local governance. 

Although the summary report emphasised strengthening local governance through elected bodies, its recommendations appeared to have prioritised the role of bureaucrats over elected representatives.

Instead of creating more layers in the public administrative services, Professor Sadik said that the interim government should strengthen the union parishad so that the primary layer of governance can effectively exercise power to deliver public services.

‘This would free the elected local government representatives from the influence of lawmakers of the respective constituencies and upazila-level bureaucrats,’ he said.