Empowering mayors

A mayor is said to be the father of a city. Voters show overwhelming support in electing him during mayoral election and pin hope on him thinking that he would sort out the chronic civic problems. But six months into the office, Dhaka North City Corporation (DNCC) Mayor Annisul Huq has revealed how hollow the term ‘father of the city’ is!
In a view-exchange meeting with newspaper editors on Saturday he seemingly capitulated to the growing civic menace of the capital city. He said he has no authority to deal with 80 percent of the problems facing the city dwellers, which means he lacks the authority to implement his voter-backed vision. If a mayor does not have control over so many city affairs, then the pertinent question is – who has the authority to deal with these problems?
He said issues such as traffic jam, water-logging, billboards are not under the purview of city mayors. His official responsibilities are to address the problems relating to parks, streetlights and waste management. If it be true, we have reasons to believe that the mayors’ power is seriously constrained.
Under the current system of the government, unelected but different government statuary bodies such as Dhaka Wasa, Rajuk and Deputy Commissioner’s office control many day-to-day operations of the Dhaka city. Decentralization of power is needed but there is also need for coordination among different government agencies and statuary bodies. City streets, which are dug round the year, are a glaring example of what happens due to a lack of coordination.
The government divided Dhaka City Corporation into South and North to manage the city better. But all the civic problems in the city – from traffic jam to deteriorating air qualities, water logging to water scarcities – still remain as they were.
So, the city needs definitive and accountable leadership of empowered mayors to get rid of its ever growing problems as well as to capitalize on opportunities that come its way. If endowed with adequate manpower, logistic support and authoritative power, the mayors would be able to bring all the relevant city authorities under their control and manage things in a coordinated manner. And in case things go wrong, the mayors would be compelled to take responsibility and act quickly – or face the wrath of voters.