Vacant positions in local governments hinder public service delivery

Kathmandu, August 29 — The Ministry of Federal Affairs and General Administration (MoFAGA) is struggling to manage its staff, resulting in 256 local levels being run by acting Chief Administrative Officers. There are vacant posts of Chief Administrative Officer at 256 out of the total 753 local governments.

The ministry has been unable to assign employees to these vacant positions in a timely manner, leading to performance issues at the local level. This has caused seven municipalities to be unable to hold municipal assembly this financial year.

Additionally, 56 employees (41 undersecretaries and 15 section officers) at the ministry are spending their time attending meetings as they have not been assigned any specific duties. When these officials are not given responsibilities promptly, they go office just for attendance.

Current status of vacancies in local levels

The vacant numbers of Chief Administrative Officers at the local level is concerning. While there are Chief Administrative Officers in all six metropolitan cities, 256 local levels, including sub-metropolitan cities, municipalities, and rural villages, are without such officials.

Of the 11 sub-metropolitan cities, only one has the Chief Administrative Officer, leaving ten without one. Joint Secretaries are assigned as Chief Administrative Officers in sub metropolitan cities.

Currently, out of 276 municipalities, only 159 have a Chief Administrative Officer, leaving 117 municipalities with vacant positions. Similarly, 129 out of 460 rural municipalities have unfilled Chief Administrative Officer positions, with substitute employees currently handling the roles.

Municipal Association of Nepal is concerned

The Municipal Association of Nepal has raised concerns with the government about the lack of Chief Administrative Officers at the local level. Kalanidhi Devkota, Executive Director of the Municipal Association of Nepal, informed Ratopati that he discussed the issue with Secretary Bharatmani Subedi and requested that staff be sent to fill the vacancies.

Devkota mentioned that he visited the ministry and asked for the necessary staff to facilitate municipal operations. He noted that seven municipalities have not yet held their municipal assemblies and some municipalities have requested replacements due to the shortage of Chief Administrative Officers.

New recruits to be dispatched to local levels

The Ministry of Federal Affairs and General Administration plans to assign 106 newly recruited section officers to the vacant positions at the local level starting Thursday. Kali Prasad Parajuli, Joint Secretary and Spokesperson of the Ministry, confirmed that these new officers will be dispatched as part of the ministry's policy to address all local level vacancies.

Parajuli also noted that some mayors are returning the new officers to the ministry, citing their lack of experience. To address this, the ministry plans to coordinate with municipal heads to ensure the new officers are accepted.

He mentioned that various reasons, including corruption cases against Chief Administrative Officers filed by the Commission for Investigation of Abuse of Authority, have contributed to the staff vacancies. The ministry is working to resolve these issues.

Parajuli added that the ministry is addressing challenges in Madhesh and Karnali Provinces, where officials are reluctant to take up their posts due to accessibility and working conditions. The ministry is making efforts to motivate and appoint staff to these areas.

The Ministry of Federal Affairs makes routine transfers of employees in August, and it is planning to fill the remaining vacancies in municipalities through those transfers.