Local govt offices falling behind in e-governance

Bangladesh’s local government offices remain poorly prepared for e-governance, with infrastructure, regional disparities and manual procedures limiting digital services, according to a Centre for Policy Dialogue study.

The study gave overall preparedness a score of 38.9 out of 100. Infrastructure readiness scored 24.1, while operational readiness scored 44. Researchers assessed 267 local-level offices and surveyed 1,382 young people, 957 women and 2,611 people from marginalised groups.

Preparedness varied sharply by location and office type. Union parishad offices scored 40.7, while union agriculture and social welfare offices lagged. UNO offices performed best at the upazila level. Mymensingh led the union-level rankings with 57.3, compared with 8.8 for Rangpur. At the upazila level, Rajshahi scored 72.6, while Rangpur recorded 12.3.

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We have everything, very good systems. But one point is kept manual, and that point becomes the money-making point.

Digital access also remained incomplete. Among women who had used government services in the previous two years, about 31% said they completed the entire process online. Others still had to visit offices to submit or collect documents, sign papers or make payments. Among people with disabilities, 43% said e-services were only partly designed for their needs. Around 60% of women surveyed felt only partly safe using digital systems because of concerns about personal-data exposure or misuse.

MIS expert Aminul Mohaimen said a single manual step could create opportunities for gatekeeping. CPD Executive Director Fahmida Khatun said technology alone could not ensure good governance. The study recommended fully digitising major services, improving local ICT capacity and complaint handling, protecting personal data and creating a Local Government Digital Readiness Index.

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Technology alone cannot ensure good governance.