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LOCAL GOVERNMENT CAPACITY BUILDING

The Local Government Institutions (LGIs) capacity building project is one of three capacity building components under the Water Supply and Sanitation Sector Programme Support (WSSPS) Phase II.
The development objective of the LGI project is to contribute to create more efficient, effective and transparent LGIs with greater devolution of administrative and financial authority to promote hygiene, sanitation and safe water supply.

In connection to the WSSPS II the project was designed for capacity building of the National Institute for Local Government (NILG) and capacity building of LGIs – the Union Parishads (UPs) and Pourashavas which are targeted for investments through the HYSAWA Fund.

The immediate objective of the LGI Project is to strengthen the capacity of NILG in order to build capacity of LGIs in providing responsive and effective water supply and sanitation services.

It is a felt need in the Government of Bangladesh (GoB) and among the donors to strengthen the institutional capacity of LGIs as a broader strategy for poverty reduction and sustainable development. Capacity building of LGIs has become more crucial because the national policies of ‘Safe Drinking Water Supply and Sanitation 1998’, ‘National Water Policy 1999’ and GoB’s ‘Poverty Reduction Strategy Paper’ (PRSP) have placed enormous importance on LGIs for poverty reduction and for safe water supply, sanitation and hygiene promotion to the community people – preferably the poor and the poorest.

The capacity building of the NILG project is improving the participatory training skills of the NILG faculty members and has widen their views and knowledge on emerging issues related to LGIs such as good governance, human rights and justice, gender, participatory planning, local resource mobilisation and fund raising. The training facilities of NILG are continuously upgraded.

The strategy for LGI capacity building is to make the services demand driven, which means that only need-based training and technical assistance will be provided to the interested LGIs. Under the Hygiene, Sanitation and Water Supply (HYSAWA) project, a memorandum of understanding has been signed between NILG and the HYSAWA Fund/ Local Government Support Unit (LGSU) for this purpose.

LGIs are implementing investment projects on water and sanitation with financial support from HYSAWA Fund. LGIs’ capacity building by NILG is planned on a demand driven bases for UPs and PSs within the HYSAWA Fund areas in Rajshahi, Naogaon and Nawabganj districts in the north-western part of Bangladesh and in Patuakhali, Barguna, Jhalokhati, Pirojpur, Barisal, Noakhali, Feni and Lakshmipur districts in the Coastal Belt. The target is to serve 250 UPs and 10 PSs out of a total of 346 UPs in the HYSAWA Fund Area.

The LGI project maintains productive linkage and liaison with other capacity builders in the country for sharing of experiences and resources. For this purpose a working group involving key players in the capacity building of LGIs has been established and meet on a quarterly or six month basis.

The total budget for the LGI project for NILG capacity building is DKK 4.9 million for a period of five years – January 2006 to December 2010. Danida is contributing with DKK 4.9 million and the partner contribution accounts for NILG staff time and training facilities and approximately BDT 700,000 for customs duty and value added tax.

Local Government Institutions - Sector Capacity Building Component

Kabir M. Ashraf Alam (Generel Director)
Phone: +88028118947

Edited June 2, 2008