MoFAGA urges all 753 local levels to adhere to 35-point commitment

Kathmandu, July 29

The Ministry of Federal Affairs and General Administration has urged all 753 local levels to live up the 35-point commitment they recently made for good governance and corruption control.

The local levels had made the commitments during a symposium on ‘Role of Local Levels in Corruption Control’ jointly organised by the Commission for the Investigation of Abuse of Authority and the MoFAGA in all seven provinces in April. It requires the chiefs and chief administrative officers of the local levels to display the commitments in a flex board with their signatures on it in the office chamber of local level chiefs, deputy chiefs, ward chairpersons, chief administrative officers and public places as to be visible to all.

According to the MoFAGA, the commitments will also be incorporated into the action plan of the respective local levels. The good governance committee formed pursuant to Section 22 of the Local Government Operation Act, 2018 will carry out monitoring to ascertain their adherence to the commitments.

Similarly, the Office of the Prime Minister and Council of Ministers, the CIAA, the MoFAGA, National Information Commission and National Vigilance Centre may monitor the implementation status of the commitment as per necessity. The federal and provincial governments will take the fulfilment of the commitments as the base while providing conditions, special and complementary grants to the local levels, the MoFAGA said.

The commitment paper reads that each local level will include the issues of corruption control and good governance in capacity development training, symposiums, seminars and workshops. The concerned district coordination committee will also see whether the commitments have been reflected in the functioning of local levels as and when the DCC monitors them.  “Officials at the local levels will have to perform their duties and responsibilities without jeopardising independence, sovereignty, territorial integrity and national unity, keeping in mind the interest of the nation and people,” it says.

The local level officials and employees will have to declare their property details as well as those of their families within 60 days from the date of completion of each fiscal. Similarly, the local levels have to develop and enforce code of ethics of elected representatives and employees, ensuring that they do  not obtain and misuse anything, both in cash and kind, other than the remuneration, facilities and allowances to be received under the prevailing laws.

The local levels should prepare annual budget and programme within Ashadh 10 of each fiscal and get it approved by the assembly by the end of Ashadh. They are also required to make public expenditure on the basis of regularity, austerity, effectiveness, efficiency and propriety, subject to the approved budget and programme besides making public the monthly and four-monthly income and expenditure statements within 15 days from the day of completion of such periods.