The Lumbini provincial government has formed a task force to implement the decision to remove advisors and experts and cut facilities and expenses.
What you should know
In response to the impact of the Gen-G movement and protests, growing resentment towards the province, and increasing public grievances against the government, the Lumbini Provincial Government has begun to look for ways to promote good governance and control corruption. To that end, the government has made efforts to reduce government expenditure, reduce corruption, and immediately address public grievances by prioritizing the promotion of good governance.
The provincial government has formed two task forces within a month of the Gen-G agitation and demonstration and started studying them. Stating that the government's current expenditure has been high on training, seminars, consultations and other topics and that they have not yielded results, it has decided to cut the amount to control irregular expenditure under such topics and has started implementing them. Similarly, the government is preparing to cut the expenditure by 20 percent on other plans, except for multi-year and ongoing plans.
According to Secretary of the Office of the Chief Minister and Council of Ministers, Kabindra Nepal, the government has also made three more important decisions along with the decision to cut expenditure recently. The government has formed a three-member task force under the leadership of Chief Secretary Baburam Adhikari to prepare a report on the immediate reforms that can be done to promote good governance. The members of the task force include Secretary of the Ministry of Economic Affairs, Dilaram Panthi, and Secretary of the Chief Minister's Office, Kabindra Nepal, Member Secretary. Similarly, a three-member task force has been formed under the leadership of Chief Secretary Adhikari to study the organization and management survey report and prepare a report with suggestions for implementation.
The Lumbini government had earlier prepared the Lumbini Province Employee Organization and Management Survey Report under the leadership of former Secretary Hari Basyal. The task force has been formed to implement the report. ‘The time limit for submitting the report to both task forces has been set at 3 months,’ said Secretary Nepal. ‘It is expected that the government’s good governance promotion will gain further momentum after the suggestions given by both task forces are implemented.’
Similarly, the government had decided last Saturday to withhold 20 percent of the budget allocated for projects run through supplementary grants, multi-year projects and regular road maintenance under the capital expenditure heading of the current fiscal year 2082/083. Secretary of the Ministry of Economic Affairs Dilaram Panthi said that the government had taken such a decision with the expectation that it would reconcile the budget deficit of at least 2 billion rupees. ‘It has been decided to withhold 20 percent of the budget allocated under the heading of monitoring and evaluation expenses, program expenses, office expenses, miscellaneous program expenses, skill development and public awareness, training and seminar expenses, and service consulting expenses,’ he said. ‘This is an important decision of the government for promoting good governance.’ Similarly, it has been decided to implement only one of the projects, programs and activities that had double entries in the budget to be implemented in the current fiscal year.
Chief Minister Chetnarayan Acharya has removed 6 advisors and experts from his secretariat after the impact of the Gen-G protests. Preparations are underway to remove some others. Chief Minister Acharya has removed political and public relations advisors, economic, rural development, educational and infrastructure experts. Earlier, Chief Minister Acharya’s secretariat had 14 members. Acharya had also decided to cut the benefits of former dignitaries. After his decision, former Speaker Purna Bahadur Gharti and former Chief Minister Kul Prasad KC have returned the vehicles and drivers they were using. He has also prepared a code of conduct for provincial ministers and provincial assembly members and has been trying to cut expenses. The code of conduct mentions that ministers should not travel with jumbo teams and should not stay in hotels. Ministers are also instructed to visit their home districts or constituencies only once a month. Chief Minister Acharya said that the government is committed to maintaining good governance and has issued strict instructions from time to time to implement decisions. 'We have taken many decisions for good governance and are also urging for their implementation,' he said. 'The three decisions taken by the last cabinet to promote good governance and the reduction of members of my secretariat are also a continuation of that.' He said that the government is moving forward in a way that instills hope, trust and confidence in the people towards the province and the provincial government. He also claims that efforts are being made to make the secretariat more efficient.
Similarly, the Provincial Health Ministry on Wednesday banned contract doctors working in government hospitals after studying on government scholarships from working in private clinics to address the complaints of the public. The Ministry of Health issued a notice on Wednesday, directing doctors working in government hospitals appointed by the Ministry of Health and Population as per the Procedure for Selection of Medical Scholarships and Mobilization of Specialist Doctors Receiving Scholarships in Government Educational Institutions, 2072, not to work outside.
Provincial Health Minister Khem Bahadur Saru said that the government has started listening to complaints that specialist doctors who studied on scholarships and are on contract and are working outside the relevant places for less time. ‘The government has made a huge investment for doctors studying on scholarships, and on top of that, they have been assigned to work with a fixed salary,’ he said, ‘Services must be provided according to the salary.’ He said that the first phase started with doctors on contract in specialist fields after receiving complaints from all sides. Chief Secretary to the government Baburam Aryal said that the provincial government is working in a way that will instill hope in the people and enable them to reap the benefits. 'The government is moving forward by preparing an action plan to promote good governance and reduce corruption,' he said. 'All ministries have been instructed to strictly implement the action plan prepared by the government, and continuous monitoring is also being done.' He said that a report has been sought from all ministries on whether it has been implemented or not, and that stricter measures will be taken after studying it.
