Newly appointed Prime Minister of Nepal Pushpa Kamal Dahal instructed 30 points of direction to the senior bureaucrats of the permanent government. Governance, public service delivery, and people’s living situation-related issues were covered in the directive policy in Singhadurbar, the seat of government in Kathmandu. Earlier this day progress reports, problems, and challenges were presented by the senior officials of the state, government, and constitutional agencies. In his third innings in the government by hook or by crook he appreciated bureaucrats assisting in governmental tasks and expected they would pursue this time too.
Instead of larger policy-related and long-term issues, Premier Prachanda focused on the immediate daily needs of the citizens in the areas of public service delivery, development administration, and infrastructure programs. Several ministries are without ministers and this has added extra responsibility to perform the stipulated tasks he conveyed. Prachanda underlined an evidence-based policy evaluation so that an objective and scientific assessment can match ground reality. So he demanded a clear identification of the administrative problems and development hurdles to resolve them scientifically. 30 Point directions covered economic and fiscal status, local development and local governance, public service delivery status, public administration, crime and punishment, and good governance and it ends with the writer’s personal succinct review.
Economic and Fiscal Status
He informed secretaries that the country’s revenue generation is as low as 25 percent of the target. This is principally due to economic recession or export-related dismal indicators or other reasons. Furthermore, income tax in Nepal has not been raised according to the targets. He further informed that resources based on grants are collected at a 27 percent level and expenditure during this period is at 28 percent with expenditure outweighing revenue generation. As in the past, recurrent expenditure in Nepal is 33 percent and capital or development expenditure is depressing 11 percent, Prachanda elicited. The annual target of the government to meet 55 billion rupees in foreign grants has so far garnered 3.42 billion Rupees or 56 percent of the amount that has so far been received. Monthly payment of taxes witnesses beeline and hassles in public offices he said. Prachanda said the policy and practice gap or policy implementation gap cannot be purged, and fiscal discipline if it is not maintained in public expenditure can see wider repercussions in good governance. And he did not fail to mention insurmountable government arrears and dues that are not cleared on time. Prachanda found that a cycle of fiscal management is problem-ridden, a sensitive issue afflicting the government.
Local Development and Local Governance
Prachanda called the National Planning Commission to immediately formulate a plan of action to implement development plans, policies and programs. He reiterated the sum of money allocated for a particular agreed program is transferred to other line items and he called for an action-oriented evaluation of officials who are already in rules and regulations.
A cycle of federal, provincial and local government has seen its functional operations after Nepal turned to a socialist, secular, federal democratic republic. He said political society expected federalism would make people access to the government, people’s participation in local development, objective development plans, and quality-based infrastructure so that people would reap lucrative dividends has been faraway dreams.
Public Service Delivery Status
Prachanda conceded that five years of running the first government has not been satisfactory. There is a beeline at the passport office, a vehicle license issuing office and a national identification card that is replacing the citizenship card snail-paced. The rationale of the national identification card is still an open-ended question to many.
Prachanda said basic education and health is the jurisdiction of local government in federalism. But its poor standard has not been addressed so far and an honest harnessing of resources and capacity has been unattended. Public hospitals and community schools are not performing well Prachanda assessed. While Chitwan and Butwal regions have exemplary community educational institutions other districts and places can emulate such standards. He called for a policy regulation if this is the case with reforms and pursue alternatives and Prachanda maintained the termination of vices in academics. He said an unwanted vacant position will be reduced and direct operational personnel agency (OPA) to fill human resources in the provincial and local level government.
He referred to complaints on not meeting the objective of health insurance of Rs. 1 lakh to cater health services to the marginalized, manual laborers and socially disadvantaged groups and they are denied entitlement to fundamental health service. The government then allocated Rs. 1 lakh for free treatment to poor people. But it is feared that some had died due to a lack of getting stipulated subsidies and social security. Public hospitals are not functioning at optimum and this impedes health service seekers awaiting even 3 to 4 months for surgery and medical treatment. Hospitals are faced with problems of technical snags and out-of-order machines and medical equipment. Those goods provided on grants are kept in the storehouse with inventory not maintained properly. The current equipment in use is damaged frequently and left with the question to resolve these issues is the responsibility of the government.
Public Administration
Some ministries and departments are filled with idle civil servants while other regular and high-density service-related portfolios lack adequate staff to deliver public goods and public services. He called for cutting down federal bureaucratic size and filling one-third of provincial and local government. He instructed to formulate a federal civil service act to present in the Parliament.
He called to prioritize public offices where there is a heavy workload like education, health, transportation, basic services, passport, vehicle license, national identification card, and land tax office where it is hassle bound. Development plans are overdue and the infrastructures built are not functional and are not repaired punctually. This is the fundamental problem of government responsibility. We cannot buck shift, nitpick and absolve from duties, Prachanda said. There is no alternative to entrusted responsibility. He warned if a month of public service delivery is unattended, departmental action would be undertaken.
Public service accessibility and ease and development administration are not given the impetus he evaluated. He asked whether it is policy or institutional-related problems or is it implementation or process-oriented gaps and called for determining the trend of problems or management issues. He called urgently to do the task of either legal formulation or executive orders or legal amends or process reforms or ascertain fact-based symptoms. Prachanda said he would take responsibility for policy-related problems and result-oriented job performance accountability is vested in the bureaucracy. He called to deliver through actions by making a plan of action and determining indicators of performance. If the civic service is not accomplished then someone is responsible for it.
Prachanda said he would not be punitive but has been left with limited options. The federal government cannot relieve its duties in an excuse of local government roles and functions when the job performance evaluation system is entrusted with senior bureaucrats.
Crime and Punishment
Traffic accidents are becoming usual and common when Nepal has lost 2200 to 2700 individuals in such episodes and injured thousands and lower-level people meet the brunt of such incidents in rural to urban areas. He called to make public transportation safe and secure. Abetting crime is happening when crime-related 42 percent of cases are not resolved in time in the courts. A burning issue of meter-interest-rate is not timely payment and credit cause worry among farmers and peasants engaged in agriculture and farmlands. They could not access banks and financial institutions which cater credits towards such services. Syndicalism in the transport sector has to end and within three months traffic accidents would be reduced, crime cases adjudicated, and meter interest rates related problems resolved. He said work performance evaluations on this basis have to be done.
Good Governance
Anticorruption is a prime task of this government and corruption-prone agencies and individuals need to be constantly watched and immediate public offices mired in irregularities are to be curbed. Digital service, impersonal service, middlemen removal, complaints redressal cell and immediate action to piling problems, hassle-free services, and compensation related citizen’s charter are to be followed to the hilt, he said. In this winter season in the Terai region, enveloping fog and snowfall in the Himalayan region are disrupting everyday lives and rendering hardships to poor and disadvantaged sections. He directed the government to prepare necessary management provisions for these climate changes. With the rise of cases of CORONA, prevention and treatment are to be done and booster doses and corona vaccines are to be administered immediately. Daily consumption goods and items are to be supplied uninterruptedly with quality standards without crony profit making, black marketing, and artificial shortage and other market fundamentalism and instructed line ministries to make monitoring and oversight effective. Bureaucrats have to be punctual, follow a code of conduct and disseminate real information for public disclosure. When officials participate in official positions and exchange reports on such invitations proper management has to be undertaken.
In resolving issues of the economic sector, he said the government should mobilize the private sector in confidence to trade, industrial growth and an investment-friendly environment. He called for preparing need-based plans to implement to increase basic goods supplies, import substitution and export promotion. In his second term in 2073-074, he oversaw development programs, hydropower development, water supply projects, agriculture modernization program, irrigation program, hospitals, potholes in Kathmandu’s streets, sewage management and others including dozens of projects and programs.
Economic diplomacy and international cooperation in bilateral and multilateral development assistance are to be mobilized. It is based on nonalignment principles that foster balanced and cordial relations to be maintained. Enmity with none amity with all Prachanda professed. Follow the diplomatic code of conduct and inform when government officials meet for diplomatic business in intimation with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The government is unable to resolve daunting problems intrinsic to the foreign employment sector that Nepalis are facing and remittance occupies a large contribution to the domestic economy in Nepal. He said government measures are inadequate to tackle the issues alone. Institutional, policy-related, or any initiatives are to be implemented immediately and should be underlined. He requested bureaucrats to directly lodge any complaints sincerely so that a principled and efficient discharging of responsibility is followed not out of fear, favor, pressure, or discretion.
Succinct Review
Overall, these directives revive administrative efficiency, effectiveness, and an economical and equity-based approach to uplift the country from a current sordid state of affairs. It tries to address where the state and government have not functioned well and where people could not own policy results, build trust and prosper further. Administrative mazes are to be streamlined and personnel management could relieve public service delivery where the workload is high. Its purpose seems to maintain good governance, curb crimes, stress punishment, fiscal discipline and economic prosperity. Public policy implementation preoccupies where the government has to focus on public service and civic responsiveness. How far can this be achieved when the legacy of officialdom is hard to shed? But the right direction to energize the spirit and action of the government can be unleashed where the erstwhile executives were lost in one issue or another of political transition. A whole gamut of public affairs can revolve around ending the vicious cycle of political instability and liquid politics in Nepal. The rest is a signpost toward achieving excellent government and maximum governance.
