KATHMANDU, DECEMBER 24
The Ministry of Federal Affairs and General Administration has issued a circular to all the local levels, directing them to strictly adhere to the existing Public Procurement Rule, 2007, while carrying out development activities through user's committee.
This circular follows a recent letter from the Commission for the Investigation of Abuse of Authority regarding irregularities on the part of elected local representatives in collusion with user's committee on the pretext of implementing development activities.
The local authorities were found to be giving more in ad-vance to the user's committee concerned than the amount permitted by the law, only to serve their personal interest through embezzlement of state funds.
The letter written by the anti-graft body to the MoFAGA emphasised the full observance of rule 5 of the Public Procurement Rules, which says, "A public entity, including the local level, may give advance payment not exceeding one-third amount of the contract price to such user's committee for the purpose of carrying out development activities through the latter. The public entity shall have to settle the advance amount given prior to paying the final instalment."
However, many local authorities have been giving more than half of the contract price in contravention of the law.
The local levels have also been told to ensure that the rates of electricity, sanitary work, transportation cost, procurement of machinery tools and channel gate fitting are compatible with the rate determined by the district concerned.
The existing law authorises the local levels to carry out construction works through user's committee. A construction work or service related to the cost estimate that does not exceed 10 million rupees may be executed by or obtained from a user's committee of the local level concerned. It aims to create employment opportunity for the locals in development activities which prohibit the use of heavy equipment like excavator and dozer and require labour-intensive work.
The 57th and 58th reports of the Auditor General had suggested the Government of Nepal to transfer the responsibility of construction, operation and maintenance of development works to user's committees by making the provision of social audit and hearing so as to ensure their quality and timely completion. The reports had also found irregularities in the development works entrusted to the user's committees due to their collusion with contractors and government officials.
A version of this article appears in the print on December 25, 2022, of The Himalayan Times.
