Forming a Bill Drafting Task Force under the leadership of Ramchandra Tiwari, Joint Secretary, Ministry of Home Affairs
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In order to make the regulation of national-international non-governmental organizations effective, the government has prepared to merge three laws. The Ministry of Home Affairs has formed a working group to draft a unified bill to integrate the National Guidance Act 2018, Organization Registration Act 2034 and Social Welfare Act 2049.
According to the Ministry of Home Affairs, after discovering the fact that subsidies received from various countries in the name of social work, development aid, good governance, etc. have been embezzled by Gases, they have started the homework of making laws to bring them under one umbrella and regulate them. Ramchandra Tiwari, Joint Secretary and Spokesperson of the Ministry of Home Affairs, is the coordinator of the working group formed by Home Minister Ramesh Akhtar for the drafting of the integrated bill. The working group includes officials from the Ministry of Home Affairs, Law, Justice and Parliamentary Affairs and Women, Children and Senior Citizens.
coordinator Tiwari informed that homework has been started to draft a single bill by amending and unifying the laws related to gases. Due to the lack of regulation and monitoring of the gas activities, the government has not been able to take action even when the economic embezzlement and illegal activities are carried out.
In the last nine years alone, national and international gas companies have spent around 3 trillion rupees in Nepal for various projects. But most of them have been criticized that they spend in a non-transparent manner and focus more on the services/facilities of their employees.
The Auditor General's office found the fact that Gasus had hidden more than 1 trillion 2 billion in various banks through 29 thousand 860 bank accounts by defrauding the government mechanism during the operational audit related to the business of 3 years from 2072/73 to 2074/75. International Gas was found to have hidden the amount in 28 commercial banks by showing false expenditure details to the government. The Accountant General had instructed the government to confiscate the amount found in that way. But later it could not be further investigated. The Accountant General had instructed the examiner to conduct effective regulation saying that some of the gasses were doing activities against the national interest.
The reports of the commission of inquiry and other committees formed by the government have also suggested regulating gasses and bringing those involved in illegal activities to justice. In the year 2076, the government formed a commission under the leadership of former judge Mohanaram Bhattarai to investigate the financial irregularities in the Social Welfare Council and the work done by Gasas to deceive the government machinery. The commission concluded that the amount brought in by Gasus in the name of subsidy was embezzled and used against the national interest and suggested the government to regulate and monitor it effectively.
After the 'suspension' of the assistance provided by the US through USAID, the Ministry of Home Affairs issued a circular to all 77 district administration offices on January 27 to study the investment, expenditure and returns of all projects run through national-international gas and submit a detailed report. After that, the government also delegated the authority to regulate, monitor and direct the work to be done through the National Guidance Act to the Secretary of the Ministry of Home Affairs.
In Section 5 of the National Directive Act 2018, it is stated that "the Government of Nepal may issue directives to class and professional organizations and other organizations of Nepal from time to time considering the national interest in relation to their work and activities and it shall be the duty of the concerned organization to comply with such directives". The Council of Ministers has delegated authority to the Secretary of the Ministry of Home Affairs to give this instruction.
The National Directive Act was issued on 13th December 2018 saying 'to bring the power of class and professional organizations to the building and development of the nation along with class and professional interests and development in order to maintain harmony between the people of different classes, professions or areas, to maintain the morals, convenience, economic interests, manners and ethics of the common people'. Similarly, the Organization Registration Act was issued on 27 August 2034 to establish and register social, religious, literary, cultural, scientific, educational, intellectual, physical, economic, professional and charitable organizations.
On 17 October 2049, the 'Social Welfare Act' was introduced saying that 'for the all-round development of Nepal and Nepali society, various activities related to social welfare work and services should be associated with development work, to enable the weak and helpless people, classes and communities of the society to lead a humane life, to increase the dignity and prestige of social service organizations and individuals and to coordinate the activities of non-governmental social organizations'. Some organizations opened according to these three laws have not worked according to the conditions and agreements.
According to the details of the financial year 2080/81, 135 international gasses and about 57 thousand national gasses are registered in the Social Welfare Council. International gas companies from various countries including America, UK, Germany, Finland, Denmark, South Korea, Japan have been conducting projects worth billions of rupees every year with approval from the Ministry of Finance and Social Welfare Council. National and international agencies have been mobilizing grant funds by showing programs especially for health, education, community development, women, children and senior citizens, persons with disabilities, Dalits, Muslims and backward classes/communities and targeted relief-rescue and reconstruction. The Auditor General's office has been raising questions saying that the aid/grant has been misused by spending a large part of the amount received on general expenses.
The Social Welfare Council has been given the authority to regulate non-governmental organizations through the 'Guidelines for Project Agreements 2071'. But the council's monitoring and regulation is lax. The support received from international agencies has not been seen according to the national priorities determined by the Development Assistance Policy 2076.
The instructions given by the General Account to the government 7 years ago to mobilize aid through the one-door system were not followed, saying that Gasus was running a 'shadow economy' by evading government funds. There are legal provisions for gasses projects such as Organization Registration Act and Regulations, 2034, Social Welfare Act and Regulations, 2049, Company Act 2063, Development Assistance Policy 2071, Council's Project Agreement Guidelines 2071, Social Organization Grants, Supervision and Evaluation Guidelines 2071.
An official of the Ministry of Home Affairs said that now a draft of the integrated bill will be prepared based on the details sent by the district administration office and the suggestions of the study task force.
