For many decades, Nepal's bureaucracy has been plagued by blatant political interference, with politicians exerting significant control
During the nail-biting climax of the U.S. presidential election held in November 2020, an hourlong telephone call excerpt between then president Donald Trump and Georgia secretary of state Brad Raffensperger was leaked. Trump was heard pressing Raffensperger to find enough votes to overturn Joe Biden's victory in Georgia. Raffensperger, himself a Republican, stood adamant against the illicit demand of his president and endorsed Biden's victory in his state. This is one of the finest examples on how a public office bearer should deal with the unlawful demands of politicians. Raffensperger's integrity was lauded worldwide, and this is the reason why American democracy is progressing – due to efficiency and autonomy of its public office bearers.
Coming to Nepal, recently, the incumbent chief secretary, who was to retire after three months, was made to resign prematurely from his post and was immediately appointed as an adviser to the National Security Council without going through any cooling period. This was done adhoc to promote the senior secretary, who was mandatorily going to retire after a few days, to the post of chief secretary. This arbitrary bureaucratic reshuffle has aptly revealed how politics is taking a severe toll on the bureaucracy.
In fact, Nepal has long struggled with governance challenges, one of the major obstacles being the dysfunctional and straw-legged bureaucracy, which operates as a mere shadow of the politicians. The appointment of civil servants immediately after their retirement to ambassadors or to various constitutional bodies is omnipresent in Nepal.
The term straw-legged bureaucracy refers to a weak and ineffective administrative system that lacks the necessary authority, autonomy and capacity to make independent decisions. Instead, the straw-legged bureaucracy largely acts as a puppet of the political leadership, thereby compromising its ability to carry out its duties efficiently and effectively. In general, the straw-legged bureaucracy's dependency on politicians undermines its capacity to deliver public services effectively. Government agencies often suffer from inadequate staffing, lack of specialised skills and limited resources.
Moreover, the close and dissolute nexus between the politicians and the bureaucracy diminishes the accountability and transparency of the administrative system. Without checks and balances, there is little incentive for bureaucrats to perform their duties diligently. This lack of accountability perpetuates a vicious cycle of underperformance and develops a culture of impunity.
For many decades, Nepal's bureaucracy has been plagued by blatant political interference, with politicians exerting significant control and influence over its functioning. The appointments and transfers of high-ranking bureaucrats are mostly done on political favouritism, rather than merit. This arbitrary practice has undermined the bureaucracy's integrity and has created a culture of dependency on political leaders. This is illustrated by the recent example of a senior secretary who is under investigatory custody in the fake Bhutanese refugee scam solely for being a yes man of his line minister.
The straw-legged bureaucracy in Nepal seriously lacks the indispensable autonomy to make independent decisions. Bureaucrats are often bound by red tape and bureaucratic procedures that impede timely decision-making. This centralised and politician-dependent decision-making process is leading to delays, inefficiencies and corruption. It is also hampering the implementation of development policies and projects.
Various incidents of the past and present show that political interference in the bureaucracy has created an environment favourable for corruption and nepotism in Nepal. When bureaucrats owe their positions to political patronage, it becomes easier for them to abuse their authority. The involvement of family members of high-level politicians in the recently unearthed fake Bhutanese refugee scam aptly supports this notion. However, the statutory body formed to investigate the abuse of authority is conspicuously tightlipped on this issue, the members of that body themselves being appointed extra-constitutionally and with sheer political favouritism. Hence, the culture of organised corruption has not only drained the public resources but has also eroded public trust in the government.
To address the challenges posed by the ineffective and straw-legged bureaucracy, Nepal needs to implement comprehensive reforms in governance by prioritising meritocracy, autonomy and professionalism within the administrative system. For that, a transparent and merit-based system should be developed for appointing bureaucrats, strictly ensuring qualifications, professional experience and skills as the primary criteria. Moreover, training and capacity-building programmes should be designed to enhance the skills of bureaucrats and equip them with the knowledge necessary for effective policy implementation.
The government should decentralise the decision-making authority and resources to the local bodies to promote greater accountability and responsibility to the local needs. Independent bodies should be established and strengthened to monitor the bureaucracy's performance, ensuring transparency and accountability. Legislation should be introduced to protect whistleblowers who would expose corruption and malpractice within the bureaucracy. Encouraging and promoting collaboration between the government and the private sector is also an important commotion to leverage resources, expertise and innovation for efficient service delivery. Bureaucratic reform calls for collective efforts from the government, civil society, and international partners to overcome the challenges posed by the straw-legged bureaucracy.
Dr Joshi is a senior scientist and independent opinion maker based in Germany pushpa.joshi@gmail.com
A version of this article appears in the print on June 29, 2023, of The Himalayan Times.
