While reducing the number of ministries, it is necessary to make the ministries that will remain smart. Along with the number of ministries, a strategy should be adopted to reduce unnecessary posts and make maximum use of technology. This will send a message that even if the number of ministries is reduced, work can be done more effectively.
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The size of Nepal's federal cabinet has always been under criticism. Due to the country's weak economic strength, it is natural to form a small and agile cabinet. Similarly, after the adoption of the federal system, the responsibilities and obligations of the union should be only coordinating, except for a limited area. But forgetting these realities, a large-sized cabinet has been formed in the union. It has not only added to the financial burden, but has also weakened the essence of the federal system.
Therefore, there has been a demand to reduce the number of ministries in the union and form a streamlined cabinet. Although the demands raised by the people have been ignored in the past, the newly formed government's Prime Minister Balendra Shah has taken the initiative. He has prepared to reduce four of the existing 21 ministries and limit them to only 17 ministries. If this preparatory work is fruitful, it will be a positive initiative for economic austerity.
Article 76 (9) of the 2072 BS constitution provides for a maximum of 25-member cabinet, including the Prime Minister. There was no such provision before. Therefore, there was arbitrariness in the formation of the Council of Ministers. For example, Sher Bahadur Deuba, who became Prime Minister in 2052, formed a 48-member Council of Ministers. In order to save his government, he adopted the strategy of making almost all the MPs of the supporting parties ministers, which resulted in the size of the Council of Ministers becoming large.
Baburam Bhattarai, who became Prime Minister in 2068, broke Deuba's 'record'. He became Prime Minister with the support of many small parties and formed a 49-member Council of Ministers. Even during the transitional period between the promulgation of the constitution and the formation of a new government from the new election. For example, Deuba, who became Prime Minister in 2074, formed a 64-member Council of Ministers. In the past, the practice of dividing ministries to strengthen power and share power was established and ministers or ministers of state were added.
After the adoption of the federal system, the federal government had to establish the practice of having some limited and sensitive ministries such as finance and foreign affairs. The workload had to be transferred to the provinces and local levels. The Constitution itself has given room to make the minimum as 'maximum 25 members'. Secondly, various commissions, committees and task forces have also been suggesting to reduce the number of ministries. For example, the Public Expenditure Review Commission led by Dilli Raj Khanal had suggested that the number of ministries should be increased to 16. The High-Level Administration Reform Implementation and Monitoring Committee led by Kashi Raj Dahal had suggested that the number of ministries should be limited to 15. The Federalism Implementation Study and Monitoring Committee Parliamentary Special Committee led by the then member of the National Assembly Khim Lal Devkota had recommended that the number of federal ministries should be limited to 15. However, contrary to suggestions from different quarters and the conception of the constitution, there is a tendency to keep the number of ministries and ministers as high as possible. For that, public criticism has also been ignored. Prime Minister Shah has tried to disrupt this.
After the adoption of the federal system, the federal government had to establish the practice of having some limited and sensitive ministries such as finance and foreign affairs. The workload had to be transferred to the provinces and local levels. But since there were many ministries and various bodies within the union, the work and decision-making power were ultimately centralized at the federal level. This weakened federalism. With the federal ministry and its subordinate bodies such as departments, divisions, and subdivisions, there was duplication in the work of all three levels of government.
On the other hand, with many ministries remaining in the union, duplication of work and the burden of expenditure also increased. Experts say that a single ministry in the union would increase the expenditure by billions of rupees. According to economist Dilliraj Khanal, reducing four ministries as is currently being prepared can reduce annual expenditure by up to 16 billion rupees. Such an amount can be invested in development expenditure. 16 billion rupees will be of great importance for Nepal, which has low development expenditure. On the other hand, the number of ministries is reduced, which also reduces the potential places for corruption.
Overall, in the context of the rapid development of technology and the digitalization of every sector, it is irrelevant to have a large number of ministries. Therefore, it is necessary to adopt a system that does not require duplication of work, does not require file rotation, and makes decisions as quickly as possible, making it easier for service recipients. Therefore, the need now is not a large number of ministries, but rather smart ministries, offices, and working styles with limited ministries and high use of technology.
Therefore, while Shah is reducing the number of ministries, it is necessary to make the ministries that will be established smart. Along with the number of ministries, a strategy should be adopted to reduce unnecessary posts and maximize the use of technology. That will send a message that even if the number of ministries is reduced, work can be done more effectively. On the other hand, provincial governments also need to follow the federal government. The special committee led by Devkota had recommended limiting the number of provincial ministers to 10 percent of the total provincial assembly members, with a minimum of 5. Similar suggestions and desires are being expressed from other sectors. In the event that a quick but smart council of ministers is formed from the union to the provinces, the citizens will also feel the improvement. The message of frugality will be sent.
