Government to Inform MPs Directly on Public Concern Resolution Progress

Kathmandu. The government has implemented a system to inform Members of Parliament (MPs) by phone about the progress of resolving public concerns and issues raised in the Federal Parliament. A weekly follow-up of this process will be conducted by the Office of the Prime Minister and Council of Ministers.

During a discussion today at the Office of the Prime Minister and Council of Ministers with officials designated for coordination with various ministries, Asim Shah, political advisor to Prime Minister Balen Shah, urged the concerned ministries to actively work towards resolving public issues raised in the Federal Parliament, rather than limiting them to notes and documentation.

"The questions and problems raised by MPs related to the daily lives of citizens should not be confined to mere record-keeping. The concerned ministry must actively work towards a solution and inform the concerned MP directly about the progress," he said.

According to Shah, each week, the concerned ministry must send a report on the actions taken regarding the issues raised by the respective MP to the Office of the Prime Minister and Council of Ministers. The Prime Minister's Office will regularly and closely monitor this. Shah stated that the Speaker and the Chief Whip would also be informed about this arrangement.

Sharing his experience as an MP, he said, "When MPs felt that the issues raised in the parliament did not reach the government and were not effectively addressed, their morale would weaken. The current government will take the public concerns raised by MPs from all parties as a shared responsibility of the government and resolve them."

Hemraj Aryal, Joint Secretary and Spokesperson of the Office of the Prime Minister and Council of Ministers, said that the government has advanced this system to make the direct accountability to citizens through parliament more effective. According to him, all public concerns raised through zero hour, special hour, or other procedures in the House of Representatives and the National Assembly will be addressed in a solution-oriented manner.

He clarified that since a verbal response from the minister in the parliament is not enough, a system has been put in place for officials from the concerned ministry to directly contact the MP who raised the question and inform them about the progress of the solution.

He mentioned that previously there was no systematic mechanism to inform the concerned MP about the implementation status of questions or problems after the minister's response, and the Prime Minister's Office is now working to institutionalize it.

According to Spokesperson Aryal, now each ministry must send a report every week to the Office of the Prime Minister and Council of Ministers, including the status of addressing and resolving issues raised in the parliament related to their ministry and the information provided to the concerned MP.

The Prime Minister's Office will integrate these reports and conduct an overall review and monitoring. He informed that preparations are also being made to develop an integrated record system through a management information system for this purpose.

According to the Prime Minister's Office, this arrangement is expected to further strengthen the effective resolution of public concerns raised in the parliament, government accountability, and direct accountability to citizens, as well as coordination among ministries.