NILG workshop focuses on strengthening local govt capacity

An orientation workshop on the developed training manuals to strengthen the capacity of local government institutions and government officials was held on Tuesday at the National Institute of Local Government (NILG) in Agargaon, Dhaka. 

With the support of the Embassy of Switzerland in Bangladesh, the workshop was organised by NILG under the GO4IMPact programme of the WaterAid Bangladesh–Swisscontact Bangladesh consortium, according to a press release.

Md Aminul Islam, director general (secretary), NILG, attended as the chief guest, and Azman Ahmed Chowdhury, country director, WaterAid Bangladesh, attended as a special guest. 

The workshop was chaired by Md Kayesuzzaman, director, Training and Consultancy (Joint Secretary), NILG, who presented the manuals together with Monika Mitra, assistant director, NILG. 

“We must develop ways to connect the realities on the ground with scientifically sound practices, so that we can ensure the right and positive impact on the environment,” said Aminul Islam.

“I sincerely thank everyone involved in making today’s event a success. WaterAid Bangladesh will continue working with NILG to build the institutional capacity needed to ensure climate-resilient water and waste management at the grassroots level,” said Azman Ahmed.

“NILG plans to include these manuals in its regular training programmes, so that local government representatives and officials can carry out their responsibilities for climate resilient water and waste management more effectively,” said Kayesuzzaman.

Participants included officials from the Local Government Division; the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change; the Ministry of Water Resources; the Ministry of Women and Children Affairs; the Water Resources Planning Organization; the Department of Environment; the Bangladesh Academy for Rural Development (BARD); the Rural Development Academy, Bogura; and the Bangladesh Public Administration Training Centre. 

The deputy directors of local government of Naogaon and Satkhira, union parishad and paurashava representatives, development partners JICA and KOICA, and representatives of several NGOs also attended.

Panel discussants shared their views on the new training manuals, and participants spontaneously joined the open discussion with field experiences and suggestions. 

Speakers expressed hope that the manuals will play an important role in improving the effectiveness of local government institutions and strengthening climate-resilient water resource and solid waste management, read the release.

Based on these manuals, NILG has already completed residential training for 551 local government representatives and related government officials from Naogaon and Satkhira districts in 15 batches between May and September this year.