Nepal Government Approves 100-Point Agenda for Major Governance Reform

Kathmandu. The Government of Nepal has approved the '100-Point Agenda for Governance Reform' with the goal of bringing extensive improvements to the country's governance structure. This new roadmap, passed by the Council of Ministers meeting on Chaitra 13, outlines a detailed plan to address complexities in the jurisdiction, resource mobilization, and service delivery among the federal, provincial, and local levels, while making the implementation of federalism more effective.

The government has prioritized streamlining the administrative structure by reducing the number of federal ministries and ensuring the genuine devolution of authority to the local levels.

Under the new agenda, provincial governments will be made more empowered and service-oriented. The hassle of approaching the center for teacher seat roll registration and post-retirement benefit management will end. A decision has been made to transfer this responsibility to the provincial ministry overseeing education starting from the next fiscal year.

In health services, the process to establish 'Burn Wards' in provincial hospitals will commence within 30 days, making it easier for burn victims to receive treatment in their own provinces. Furthermore, a free 'Blue Bus' service will be launched in all seven provinces for the safe travel of women, with a target of bringing at least 25 buses into operation within the first 100 days.

National standards for ensuring the quality of services provided by local levels will be prepared within 45 days. To create employment, the current employment service centers will be transformed into 'Employment, Skill, and Entrepreneurship Centers' and brought into operation within 60 days, with mandatory budget allocation required from the local levels.

For agricultural reform, the concept of weekly agricultural markets and 'One Municipality One Cold Storage Center' will be advanced through public-private partnership in every municipality. Local levels have also been tasked with conducting household surveys in coordination with local levels to resolve the issues of landless squatters and unplanned settlers, and to develop integrated housing through 'Land Pooling' or apartment models.

Digital Governance and Coordination Among Three Tiers

The government has placed special emphasis on digital governance, introducing a plan to strengthen and make the integrated government office management system user-friendly in all government agencies within the next 100 days. A system will be developed to obtain 'real-time data' for industries, businesses, and firms registered at the federal, provincial, and local levels. Additionally, national standards for the Organization and Management (O&M) survey of all three tiers will be formulated and implemented within 15 days.

New Steps for Good Governance and Transparency

The agenda signals strict measures to curb corruption and promote good governance. A powerful committee will be formed within 15 days to investigate the assets of high-ranking officials and employees who have held public office since B.S. 2048 until now. The goal of establishing an 'Integrated Digital Asset Registry' to control corruption has also been set.

Moreover, a 'National Commitment' document will be prepared to institutionalize the implementation of election pledges, establishing shared ownership. The government believes that formulating the annual policy, program, and budget based on this document will further strengthen the spirit of federalism.

Need for Revision of Work Distribution Report

Kalanidhi Devkota, Executive Director of the Nepal Municipal Association, emphasized the immediate need to review the 'Work Distribution' report, as some ambiguity has arisen due to the lack of clear job descriptions and division of responsibilities among the three tiers of government during the implementation of federalism. According to him, achieving expected results has been difficult because the roles and jurisdictions of each tier are not clearly defined. Director Devkota stated that based on 10 years of experience, local level reviews, border dispute resolutions, and dissatisfactions regarding ward division must be addressed. He added, 'According to the principle of proximity, the local level is the government closest to the citizens, so it must be made more responsible and resource-rich.'

He believes that since basic functions of education, health, and social development are more effective at the local level, the federal and provincial governments must provide special assistance for systemic reform and capacity building of the local levels. He stressed that the empowerment of local governments should be more clearly articulated in the government's minimum common program for this purpose.