Kathmandu, May 9:

For the first time in Nepal, a civil servant has been permitted to file a complaint to the Commission for Investigation of Abuse of Authority (CIAA) against his own ministry and department.

The ministry of Labour and Transport management (MoLTM) today granted Jagadish Dahal, a non-gazetted officer at the ministry, permission to lodge a complaint about irregularities and lacklustre attitude in the ministry.

Dahal had, on May 4, written to the secretary of MoLTM seeking permission to lodge a complaint with both the CIAA and the Prime Minister’s Office. Today he got a letter from section officer at MoLTM Chandra Bahadur Siwakoti, which states, “A civil servant can lodge a complaint or give information to avoid corruption in accordance with the Anti-Corruption Act-2059, Clause 56.”

Dahal told this daily that he has collected 263 files in which the authorities, including MoLTM, and the department of labour and employment promotion (DoLEP) which is under the MoLTM have breached the existing law. Those are post-1997 files, he said.

“I have been constantly raising the issues of irregularities, misappropriation and bad governance in the ministry and its departments, especially related to the foreign employment sector,” he said. Dahal added that he would file a complaint with the CIAA anytime soon. Dahal did not indicate when he would be filing a complaint with the PMO. When contacted, senior officials at the MoLTM declined to comment.

Irregularities

• DoLEP recommended to allow High Himalayan Gorkha Service Pvt Ltd to open a liaison office in Israel as per a letter dated August 16, 2004, without a proper legal provision on use of foreign currency for the stated purpose.

• Despite MoLTM’s suspension order, DoLEP permitted to operate Triveni Overseas Concern Pvt Ltd from January 25, 2006 The firm’s licence was suspended on October 6, 2004 for sending labourers to Qatar using forged documents.

• MoLTM has yet not responded to a CIAA letter of April 2004, seeking its intervention on a complaint about sending Nepali workers to Iraq illegally.

• MoLTM has yet not taken any decision on issues raised by DoLEP on a letter dated June 17, 2005 on permission given to Lumbini Overseas to send trainee industrial workers to South Korea. CIAA had asked the MoLTM to furnish the details on the matter and the ministry had instructed the DoLEP to provide the details.