Kathmandu, July 3

Differences over nomenclature and boundaries have surfaced at the local levels affecting their functioning, says a report by Democracy Resource Centre Nepal.

Boundaries, names and centres of many local units were contested before the local elections, which were held from May to September, 2017. These problems were put on the back burner during elections, as candidates promised to resolve the issues after they were elected.

Since the elections, public perception regarding local governments has become positive, but a number of challenges, especially those highlighted by elected representatives themselves, need to be swiftly addressed in order to achieve desired outcome, say the preliminary findings of the research on Functioning of Local Governments in Nepal.

“Local governments across the country have spent significant time of their first year in planning, drafting necessary laws, training representatives and officials, and implementing small but populist projects,” says the report.

However, grievances related to local level restructuring, especially those related to local unit centres, conflicts between different levels and layers of governments, and lack of staff and their training and capacity have severely impacted functioning of local units, adds the report.

Local government officials have said they lack capacity and expertise on planning, budgeting and dispensing justice through judicial committees. They have also complained about lack of clarity on policies and laws framed by the central government.

It has also viewed the central government’s practice of sending template legislation for local assemblies as ‘attempts to directly supervise local units’.

“The central and provincial levels should promptly formulate all the laws to ensure clarity and consistency in the functioning of local governments,” said DRCN Observer Co-coordinator Nayan Pokhrel.

The existing laws should not contradict with constitutional provisions and problems related to restructuring of local units should be addressed promptly, the report says. Also, integration of civil servants at all levels should be completed without any delay and necessary interim arrangements should be made to address problems related to shortage of staff at the local level, adds the report.

The report also says adequate training must be provided to elected representatives and local officials to increase legislative, executive and judicial capacity.

DRCN Executive Director Anubhav Ajeet said the research was conducted by five teams comprising two research officials each in five different regions of the country.

The teams were based in Biratnagar, Janakpur, Pokhara, Dang and Dhangadi, according to Ajeet. As of June 28, DRCN teams have visited over 130 local units in 52 districts across the country and interviewed over 2,500 respondents, said Ajeet.