Nepal

Local levels should be made accountable: CIAA Commissioner

Local levels should be made accountable: CIAA Commissioner

By Rastriya Samachar Samiti

Commission for the Investigation of Abuse of Authority (CIAA) building. Photo: THT

DHANKUTA: Commissioner of the Commission for the Investigation of Abuse of Authority (CIAA), Sabitra Thapa Gurung has directed the local levels to become accountable in public service delivery and to ensure good governance.

Addressing an interaction on the role of CIAA in corruption control in Dhankuta on Thursday, she insisted that the local levels show zero tolerance to corruption and put that into practice.

Mayors and deputy mayors of all municipalities, chairs and deputy chairs of all rural municipalities in the district as well as the chiefs of district-based government offices participated in the interaction. There are altogether seven local levels including municipalities and rural municipalities in Dhankuta district.

The CIAA commissioner, on the occasion, urged the local level office-bearers to abide by the Acts, regulations and rules of procedures determined by the government in deference to people's aspirations, as the rights and authority of the centre has now been devolved to local levels and they would be exercising these rights and authority.

She also instructed the local level people's representatives and office chiefs to keep the Citizen Charter, assign an information officer and an official to look into public grievances at every office.

Commissioner Gurung also urged the people's representatives and civil servants to be extra cautious in light of the fact that CIAA has received maximum complaints of corruption taking place at the offices related to education, public health, and physical infrastructure construction, among others, in recent times.

The CIAA office, Dhankuta said that out of the 127 complaints of abuse of authority that it received from Dhankuta, Bhojpur, Sankhuwasabha and Tehrathum districts this year, it has looked into all but 51 complaints.