INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
Kathmandu, January 5The Ministry of Federal Affairs and General Administration has issued a circular to all local
levels, directing them to conduct their self-assessment and publish results by January 21.
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According to the MoFAGA, the 'Local Level
Institutional Capacity Self-Assessment Procedure' requires local governments to carry out self-assessment of their overall performance every
It aims to identify strengths and weaknesses of local governments through assessment of performance and outcomes in a bid to make them
competitive and more effective.
The thematic areas for self-assessment of local units include governance arrangements,
organisation and administration, annual budget and planning management, fiscal and financial management, public service delivery, judicial
performance, physical infrastructure, social inclusion, environment protection and disaster management, and coordination and
collaboration.As per the MoFAGA, each thematic area has a separate indicator for self-assessment.The maximum mark per indicator has been
Poor performance, moderate performance and excellent performance will get 0, 0.5 and 1 respectively."It is mandatory for the local levels to
complete their self-assessment and publish the results through their respective websites and notice boards before the end of December of
each fiscal following the approval of the provision from the executive office
Similarly, the final results should be sent to the concerned district coordination committee, Office of the Chief Minister and Council of
Ministers of the province and the MoFAGA by mid-January of each fiscal," the official said.The concerned departments, divisions and sections
are involved in self-assessment of the thematic areas.According to the MoFAGA, the chief administrative officer of the local level
designates a focal person, and the concerned departments, divisions and sections provide the results of the indicators determined for each
thematic area to the focal person
Subsequently, the focal person consolidates the results of self-assessment of the local level and sends the same to the chief administrative
officer for approval before publication of results through the website and notice board.The MoFAGA prepares a consolidated report comprising
the self-assessment results of all 753 local levels and conducts capacity development programmes for such local governments, which are found
The MoFAGA will also officially declare the names of meritorious local levels and decide the amount of fiscal transfer to the local
governments based on the results.A version of this article appears in the print on January 6, 2023, of The Himalayan Times.
This article first appeared/also appeared in https://thehimalayantimes.com