Dhaka, June 27 -- To achieve upper-middle income status, Bangladesh must empower the local government institutions through administrative and fiscal decentralisation, a new World Bank report said Thursday.

It noted that the local government institutions play a limited role in delivering services due to limited decision-making and financial authority, lack of resources and staff, and weak capacity.

The report - 'Local Government Public Financial Management System Assessment' - finds that Local Government Institutions (LGI) suffer from weak pubic financial management practices, hindering their service delivery capabilities.

Though the LGI's spending as a share of GDP increased from 0.67 percent in 2001 to 1.1 percent in 2013, it remains ...