KATHMANDU: A reduction in the presence or absence of VDC secretaries is likely to have consequences on the delivery of state services and the citizens’ perceptions of the state, according to a report issued by the United Nations Office for Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) Nepal. The report released this week states that at the start of 2010, the situation was far from resolved with only 42 per cent of VDC secretaries present based on the most recent survey conducted in late 2009. This is a nine per cent decrease in secretary coverage over roughly 18 months since early 2008. An additional 25 per cent of the secretaries provide services from the District Headquarters and 14 per cent are only partially present. “The number of vacant posts and absent secretaries has more than doubled from 8 per cent in 2008 to 19 per cent in 2009. Many of these absent or vacant VDCs (91 per cent) are receiving services from secretaries covering up to five VDCs,” said the report. To better understand governance at the community level, OCHA and its partners have conducted three surveys of VDC secretary presence since 2006. The first survey was conducted in mid-2006, soon after Janandolan-II (People’s Movement) and the April ceasefire. Due to insecurity during the conflict, a majority of the VDC secretaries formally moved to the district headquarters or municipalities where security forces were present. The May/June 2006 survey revealed that only 32 per cent of VDC secretaries were able or willing to work from their respective VDCs. The remaining (68 per cent of VDCs) were predominantly working from “clusters” in District headquarters. A high level of secretary presence was only recorded in a few mountain districts (and a few central Terai districts). A second survey, conducted between February and May 2008 and covering 3,853 VDCs, reflected that the situation had improved and 51 per cent of VDC secretaries were present as required. Of the remaining secretaries, 41 per cent were partially present, making occasional visits to the VDC and based in the district headquarters or other parts of the country, and 8 per cent were vacant positions or absentee secretaries. Some of the VDC secretaries (9 per cent) had been assigned to multiple VDCs to help cover vacant posts.