INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
KATHMANDU, SEPTEMBER 9
The Government of Nepal has issued model, Public Accountability Promotion Procedure-2020, for local levels to make
their service delivery transparent and accountable through proper mobilisation of public funds.
The procedure published by the Ministry of
Federal Affairs and General Administration yesterday will come into force in each local unit after it is endorsed by the concerned
It requires the local levels to receive grievances of citizens through oral or written communication, text messaging service, telephone,
fax, hotline, email, post office, express delivery, complaint box, public audit and public hearing.
As per the procedure, grievances
received from the service-seekers shall have to be classified as per their natures like public procurement, quality of infrastructure
development, financial discipline, provision of penalty fees, project selection and management, existing legal provisions and conduct of
concerned employees.
Chief administrative officer of each local unit shall designate a senior employee as a grievance hearing authority, who
is obliged to settle grievances within seven days
The grievance hearing authority has to inform concerned complainant about redressal of his/her grievance through any means, including SMS or
email, as soon as possible, reads the procedure.
Any grievance, which could not be settled by the grievance hearing authority, has to be
forwarded to a four-member grievance redressal coordination committee headed by chief or deputy chief of local level.
Concerned ward offices
may also receive and settle grievances of the service-seekers
In such a case, the ward secretary shall act as grievance hearing authority.
Grievance, which could not be addressed by the grievance
hearing authority of the ward, shall be forwarded to the committee through CAO of the concerned local unit, states the procedure.
According
to the procedure, each local level shall place a complaint box in the main entrance gate of the office
The complaint box should be properly padlocked and opened only by the grievance hearing authority at least once a week in the presence of
the chief of the local level and two other officials or employees.
The grievance hearing authority and concerned officials or employees
shall have to maintain confidentiality of the complainants, states the procedure.
The local level may write to the Commission for the
Investigation of Abuse of Authority for investigation about grievances or complaints related to corruption or financial irregularities, as
per the decision of the concerned executive.
The local government has also been mandated to implement grievances or complaints and
suggestions with utmost priority, through the CIAA, Office of the Auditor General, parliamentary committees, agencies of the Government of
Nepal and provincial governments and District Coordination Committee.
According to the finding of lsquo;Study on Corruption in Local
Levels-2020 published by the anti-graft body, 55.3 per cent of respondents claimed they either paid or heard about under-the-table money
solicited by the responsible officers at local levels.
The procedure makes it mandatory for local levels to conduct social audits of
programmes or activities implemented by them in each fiscal year
Social audit shall be conducted through a third party by hiring a consultant as a social auditor in accordance with the Public Procurement
There will be a five-member social audit coordination committee led by CAO to facilitate the conduction of social audit, reads the
procedure.
A version of this article appears in e-paper on September 10, 2020, of The Himalayan Times.
The post Bid to add transparency to
local levels working appeared first on The Himalayan Times.
