Kathmandu, July 27

The government has made it mandatory for all the ministries and their subordinate departments, agencies and offices to conclude performance contract with employees ranking from gazetted third class (section officer) to first class (joint-secretary), with effect from the current fiscal 2019-20.

A meeting of secretaries held under the chairmanship of Chief Secretary Lok Darshan Regmi on July 18 had decided to sign performance contract with government employees to make them more competent, service-oriented and responsible by reforming service delivery mechanisms, read a notice published by the Ministry of Federal Affairs and General Administration on its website.

All the ministries have issued circulars to their concerned departments, divisions, agencies and offices to implement the decision. According to the Office of the Prime Minister and Council of Ministers, the performance contract also aims to institutionalise ‘reward and punishment’ practice in public sectors by discouraging the trend of giving grades even to under-performing employees for their promotion.

The ministries, concerned departments, divisions, agencies and offices will provide marks to the employees on the basis of success or failure to meet the performance indicators set forth in the contract signed with them, in accordance with section 15.1 of the Civil Service Act and rule 34b of the Civil Service Rules. The performance contract includes goals of the office, budget, human and non-human resources and means required to achieve the goals, time-frame to achieve the goals, results to be achieved or expected outcomes, indicators of the performance evaluation, conditions for the termination of the contract, power required for the implementation of the contract and its validity, among others.

According to rules, the concerned ministry and department shall regularly monitor whether work as referred to in the performance contract has been carried out or not. There will be a committee under the convenorship of the concerned ministry, comprising representatives of the MoFAGA and the National Planning Commission for annual appraisal of the work as mentioned in the work performance agreement.

In the event of failure to perform in accordance with the performance contract, except owing to circumstances beyond control, such an employee may be relieved of his/her special responsibility for two years, the rules stated.

“Performance evaluation of the employees will also be based on the improvement made in service delivery, innovative work, condition of capital expenditure and approved budget and programme, arrears settlement and financial discipline compared to the last fiscal,” the OPMCM said. It has directed all ministries and their subordinate offices to follow the best practices issued by the home ministry in signing performance contract with the employees.

The MoHA was the first ministry to conclude performance contract with its department heads and chief district officers last fiscal and has continued this in current fiscal as well.