Citizen’s Trust on Local Government: A Study on Sylhet Sadar Upazila and Kanaighat Upazila

Abstract

Bangladesh is one of the most governance deficit countries of the world. In this reality, Upazila system, as an intermediate tier local government unit, is reestablished under the Upazila Parishad Act 2009. This Act is the basis of the formation and function of the Upazila Parishad. In this study, survey method has been applied to primary data collection from two upazila (Sylhet Sadar Upazila and Kanaighat Upazila) in Sylhet district. The study finds that the existing upazila parishad activities do not meet the demand of the people. Citizen’s trust on the Upazila Parishad is very low. The study also finds some other challenges, including unskilled manpower, proper planning and a lack of financial resouces. Moreover, the officials are not professional and their behaviors are not good while performing their duties. Most of the service receiver did not get best service from upazila officials. However this study suggests some recommendation for improving the service of upazila parishad. Officials should be highly trained and professional on their service delivery. By ensuring the best services, they can achieve the trust of general people.And the Government should take additional steps with regards to improving the upazila parishad service.