Karnali Chief Minister Yamlal Kandel Expresses Frustration Over Government Performance

Surkhet. Karnali Chief Minister Yamlal Kandel appears dissatisfied with the performance and working methods of the government under his own leadership. His frustration stems from the fact that even as his tenure approaches two years, there has been no work that the public can directly feel.

Chief Minister Kandel frequently issues directives to ministers, secretaries, and subordinate bodies regarding good governance and development projects. However, the results of his directives remain invisible.

'Ministers and employees do not listen despite repeated instructions. What is the point of the Chief Minister trying to take the initiative?' a source close to the Chief Minister told Ratopati. 'The work of no minister or ministry is satisfactory. The Chief Minister has called ministers and secretaries multiple times to give instructions, but they do not comply.'

• Failure in Primary Objectives

Since taking charge of Karnali Province, Chief Minister Yamlal Kandel's top priorities have been comprehensive improvements in development budget implementation, timely execution of projects, and full transparency. Kandel frequently uses these issues to instruct ministers and staff, even extracting commitments from them. However, these directives and commitments have failed to materialize in practice. Neither the ministers listen to him, nor does the bureaucracy appear responsible for implementation.

As a result, the fact that results are limited to near zero is being exposed. With only 4 months left until the end of the fiscal year, less than 15 percent of the development budget has been implemented. Implementing the development budget has been a major challenge since the inception of Karnali Province.

Kandel used to heavily criticize former Chief Ministers Mahendra Bahadur Shahi and Jeevan Bahadur Shahi, saying they 'could not even implement the budget received through grants from the center.' At that time, Kandel was in the opposition.

It has been nearly two years since he became Chief Minister, and the state of budget implementation appears even weaker than in the past.

In the current fiscal year (082/083), out of the 19 billion 98 crore 27 lakh allocated for development or capital expenditure, only 2 billion 59 crore 14 lakh 12 thousand has been implemented by the end of Falgun, which is only 12.97 percent of the total capital budget.

Last year (081/082), 15 percent of the budget was implemented during the same period, while 16 percent was implemented in 079/080.

'It is not like there is a shortage of staff or lack of experience like in the past, so why is there a decline in development budget implementation?' says a former lawmaker from the ruling CPN-UML party. 'It seems that not even 60 percent of the budget will be implemented in the remaining 4 months.'

Ruling Nepali Congress lawmaker Krishna Kumar Bisi stated that the government appears to be at its weakest in terms of budget implementation.

Meanwhile, nearly 31 percent of the budget for salaries and allowances has already been spent. While the administrative mechanism and ministers are receiving regular salaries and benefits, there is no focus on implementing the development budget.

Another lawmaker from the ruling party mentions that the failure to implement the budget in the physical infrastructure sector, which is considered the backbone of development, is hindering the entire province's development pace.

'The medium for working in favor of the people and sending the state treasury to the public is budget implementation,' he said. 'The government's incompetence and apathy in budget implementation have not only affected physical infrastructure development but have also impacted economic development as a whole.'

• No New Plans, Old Projects Abandoned

The Kandel-led government has no new or strategic plans to claim as its own. Even some popular programs that were being implemented in the past are now in limbo.

The Karnali Provincial Stadium, considered exemplary for the country, has been stalled for the past year with only 1 percent of the work remaining. Due to the failure to appoint a member secretary with financial authority on time, the stadium, which was 99 percent complete, has not only been abandoned but has started to deteriorate before even coming into operation.

The contractor company MAC/GSL JV stopped work with 1 percent remaining, claiming they had not been paid for the work done. Now, the buildings, grounds, fields, and swimming pools within the stadium premises have become dilapidated.

The foundation stone for the stadium, which covers an area of 9 bighas in the heart of Birendranagar Municipality-8, the provincial capital, was laid on 078 Mangsir 20.

The stadium, with a capacity of 10,000 spectators, cost 1 billion 59 crore 47 lakh 47 thousand rupees. The provincial government still owes the contractor company approximately 9 crore rupees.

Following continuous media scrutiny and public criticism, a member secretary was appointed only a few days ago.

The plan to complete unfinished schools within the province built with provincial government investment has not yet been implemented. Projects, including schools in earthquake-affected areas, have not been completed due to a lack of concrete implementation. The government is also not responsible for terminating old, stalled contracts in the physical infrastructure sector and getting the work done.

Nearly half of the budget in the physical sector is for liabilities from previous years. 'The government can neither implement that nor exit the liability by terminating the contract,' said a former minister from the ruling party. 'The government is carrying the burden of liability; if it had terminated the contract, it would have been out of the liability. That money could have gone to new programs.'

There is a declaration to make Karnali 'Tuin-free' within this year, but that is not possible given the budget and implementation speed. The 4 billion 61 crore 'Karnali Singha Durbar' project is mired in controversy before even being implemented, while the reconstruction of the Provincial Assembly building, which became a target of the Gen-Z movement, and the ashes of the Chief Minister's residence have yet to be cleared.

These are just a few examples; none of the government's annual programs are being implemented properly.

The current year's plans should have gone into the implementation process within the first four months. For that, a performance agreement was signed with the ministers in Shrawan. However, most of the programs have not yet been implemented. Lawmakers say that delays in the decision-making process regarding large-budget and strategic projects are affecting the overall speed of the government's budget implementation.

So much so that some decisions made by the Council of Ministers have not been implemented. The reports of two important expert committees formed for the administrative restructuring of Karnali Province and the upgrading of the Karnali Provincial Hospital have not yet been fully implemented.

In administrative restructuring, although a decision was made to reduce the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Law in the first phase, no other work has been done. A long time has passed since the 'Report Implementation and Facilitation Committee' was formed under the coordination of Laxmi Kumar BK, Secretary of the Governance Reform Division of the Office of the Chief Minister and Council of Ministers, but the government is indifferent to its implementation. The hospital report is gathering dust in a drawer.

Popular programs introduced in the past, such as 'Bank account for daughters, security for life' and long-term programs like 'Digital Education,' are in limbo.

• Same Voice from Ruling and Opposition Parties

Ruling Congress lawmaker and former minister Krishna Kumar Bisi said that the provincial government has not been able to move forward on the path of progress.

He said, 'It has been over 8 years since the establishment of the province, and the government is in the most disappointing state to date.'

Bisi says that bodies like the Provincial Public Service Commission have been rendered useless, and the government is not sensitive to public interest work. 'Because of this, public trust in the parties is decreasing,' he said. 'The government must now self-reflect.'

Ruling CPN-UML lawmaker Jeet Bahadur Malla questioned the performance of the ministers. He accused Social Development Minister Ghanshyam Bhandari of not paying attention to issues of public concern. Opposition lawmakers have also been complaining that ministers do not pay attention to public interest issues, are not accountable, and do not answer questions raised in the parliament.

The Provincial Public Service Commission has been without leadership for a year. RPP lawmaker Santoshi Shahi said that constitutional bodies have been made like a 'pendulum.'

Questioning the competence of the ministers, Shahi said that ministers just sign in and leave, do not make decisions, and do not take responsibility.

'Today's Karnali government does not look like a government; it feels like there is no government,' she said. 'We made dozens of laws, but there has been no review of whether those laws are being implemented. If laws are to be limited to paper, what is the point of making them?'

Chief Whip of the main opposition party, CPN (Maoist Centre), Krishna Bahadur GC, said that the current government has already failed. 'The government has completely failed; it has hindered the overall pace of Karnali,' GC said. 'With this method, the slogan of a prosperous Karnali and happy Karnali residents will not find meaning.'

• Chief Minister Fed Up with Ministers and Employees

Ministers and employees of the provincial government often blame the Gen-Z rebellion and elections as the main reasons, but lawmakers say that is just an excuse.

After the Gen-Z rebellion, Chief Minister Yamlal Kandel has found it difficult to make ministers and employees dynamic. The Chief Minister complains that despite his best efforts, the bureaucracy and ministers have not paid attention to increasing the speed and effectiveness of work.

Fed up with the increasing criticism, Chief Minister Kandel was very angry during a discussion on 'Budget implementation status, project selection criteria, and procedures' at the Office of the Chief Minister and Council of Ministers on Monday.

He warned ministers and employees to think in time if they cannot work. 'Your old style of working is not working at all. End that trend,' an angry Chief Minister Kandel said. 'The progress of budget expenditure so far appears weak. Relevant ministries and bodies should improve their performance immediately; this is my directive.'

He said that ministers and secretaries must now answer why the budget could not be implemented effectively. He added, 'Improve your old style, learn to work in a new way; the people want results.'

He directed them to immediately end the trend of obstructing work. He said, 'If there is any problem, inform me; I will step forward myself for the solution.'

Chief Minister Kandel is dissatisfied with the fact that the Ministry of Finance has appeared very weak in terms of performance recently. Finance Minister Rajiv Bikram Shah's performance is weak. He is also not satisfied with the performance of other ministers.

He has also directed them to work in a way that prevents complaints from the public due to delays in development work. He has told ministers not to participate unnecessarily in meetings outside the province in the name of Karnali Province and to focus on performance.