Speakers, deputy-speakers agree to promote independent presence of PAs

KATHMANDU, July 23: Federal Parliament and Province Assemblies' Speakers and deputy-speakers have pledged to contribute more to making the operations of parliamentary affairs additionally transparent, pro-people, effective and accountable. 

The two-day gathering of the speaker of the House of Representatives (HoR), National Assembly (NA) chair, HoR deputy-speaker, NA vice-chairperson, and speakers and deputy-speakers of Province Assemblies held in Chandragiri of Kathmandu has issued a 12-point conclusion today,  stressing on the need of the independent presence of the federal and provinces. The meeting concluded on Saturday.

 They have agreed to discourage the atmosphere that permits ripple effects of any political change in the federal enter the province assemblies (PAs). As stated in the conclusion paper, there is a unanimous agreement on creating an atmosphere that safeguards the province parliament from undue influence or interference from the central government.

The meeting agreed to go through needs assessments and feasibility studies as part of the law formulation process, with the aim of enhancing the effectiveness of implementation. The participants emphasized the importance of making parliamentary research and studies on the implementation status of laws more results-oriented.

The assembly concluded that it should be ensured the issues raised during the pre-budget discussions and the deliberations on the annual policies and programmes of the government are included and the stated programmes should be managed in such a manner that they are completed before the budget session of each fiscal year. 

It has decided to form a parliamentary mechanism under the leadership of the Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives for the implementation of women's rights provided for in the Constitution and for women empowerment. The mechanism will have the National Assembly Vice-chairman and the Deputy Speaker of the Province Assembly as its members.

They have also agreed to take initiatives for expanding the workload of the Deputy Speaker. The gathering concluded that the Province Assembly shall be made further effective through legislation by identifying and prioritizing the required laws for strengthening the federal democratic system of government.

They also agreed to draw the attention of the government to rethink the order of precedence of the Speaker and the Deputy Speaker of the Province Assembly in consonance with the spirit of federalism.  

The gathering emphasized the need of setting up its own data centre and other infrastructures to make the Assembly and Secretariat technology-friendly and making it paperless, taking initiatives towards carrying out works prioritizing data confidentiality and security.

Internalizing the principle that the Executive should not interfere in order to make the parliamentary business more effective, the conclave concluded on taking initiation for management of the employees working in the Province Assembly in accordance with a separate law. It has also stated to give priority to the topic of encouraging the exchange of study visits and experience sharing among the members and employees of the Federal Parliament and the Province Assembly for enhancing their capacity and professionalism.

In the programme organized by the Federal Parliament here today, Speaker Devraj Ghimire said the media has an important role in disseminating information about the Parliament and the parliamentary activities and making the people well-informed on these matters. 

National Assembly Chairman Ganesh Prasad Timilsina said all should internalize that the Centre should not interfere in the Province's autonomy.