The two-day Chief Ministers’ Meeting organized by the Gandaki Province Government was focused on listing out common agendas for the Inter-state Council meeting to be held in Kathmandu on September 09, 2018.

The meeting saw discussions on the current status of governance across local bodies, issues and ways to resolve them.

Speaking on the sidelines of the meeting, Gandaki Province Chief Minister (CM) Prithvi Subba Gurung said that the meeting is in line with the constitutional provision for federal structure that marks the significance of CM’s role in development after Prime Minister.

In the meeting, majority of the CMs said the federal government failed in timely devolution of powers to provincial governments, leading to discrepancies in key areas like defining laws, human resources and required budgets.

Because of this, provincial governments failed to deliver the required support to local bodies, they added.

“This has led to a situation, wherein we’ve not been able to send the message to the people that provincial government is at work despite being six months in power,” said CMs.

They claimed that provinces will not able to deliver the expected unless local administration, civil servants and police are under their jurisdiction.

Raising serious concerns over implementation of budget, policy and programs even six months after the formation of provincial bodies, CMs urged the Center to handover all the physical infrastructure and other properties to the provinces.

They urged for the formation of the ‘National Natural Resources and Financial Commission’ at the earliest possible.

Let’s take a glance at what Chief Ministers of various Provincial Governments said in the Summit:

It’s obvious that questions would be raised against the federal government as the constitution has allocated all the rights to it including that of transition period, civil servants, managing resources, formation of police organization and right to draft laws regarding the list of common rights. Since the provincial governments would be responsible for the failure of federal system, we have taken the initiative to organize the gathering and play constructive role. – Prithvi Subba Gurung, Chief Minister of Gandaki Province

Provinces have brought the budget, but there is no mechanism to implement. Old structures have been removed. The presence of provincial government cannot be felt at all the districts. – Dormani Poudel, Chief Minister of Province 3

Though province’s law & order comes under state government’s jurisdiction, we’ve not been able to form the provincial police  – Lal Babu Raut, Chief Minister of Province 2

“It’s a serious issue. What shall we do if the central government refused to accept when we begin the process after seeking foreign investment?  – Shankar Pokhrel, Chief Minister of Province 5

Let’s see what the Center says now!

The post Federal Nepal: Provinces Unhappy with Centre’s Stance on Local Bodies appeared first on Nepali Sansar.

The Board of Executive Directors of #WBG on August 07, 2018 enacted a new five-year Country Partnership Framework (CPF) for Nepal with an aim to support the country in its path of development driven by federalism.

CPF for Nepal also includes WB’s commitment to offering needed support to all Nepali institutions that are key to successful implementation of federalism and fast-paced development of the country.

According to the Chief of the International Economic Cooperation Coordination Division of the Finance Ministry, Shri Krishna Nepal, WBG also promised enhancement of its financial support to the Himalayan nation significantly over the next five years period.

Nepal’s transition to federalism unlocks opportunities for all citizens to participate in its development. This represents a window of opportunity for the country to further reduce poverty, increase the income of the bottom 40 percent, and pursue its ambitious agenda of inclusive growth and accountable service delivery.
– Qimiao Fan, World Bank Country Director for Bangladesh, Bhutan and Nepal

What CPF Envisages for Nepal?
CPF noted that #NepalFederalAgenda comes as a boost to WBG’s programmes at the operational and policy levels, while also cautioning the nation with supposed societal challenges that can arise in the federalism implementation process.

“Transitional vulnerabilities could heighten in the early days of federalism as development roles are adjusted and the new structures take root,” notes CPF.

According to an official release, CPF’s key areas of focus for Nepal include:

• Strengthening public institutions for economic management, service delivery and public investment
• Promoting private sector-led jobs and growth
• Enhancing inclusion for the poor, vulnerable, and marginalized groups, with greater resilience against climate change, natural disasters, and other exogenous shocks 

The new partnership strategy with the World Bank Group is focused on supporting our transition to federalism, fits squarely within our vision and underpins a Nepali-owned model, says Yuba Raj Khatiwada, Nepal Finance Minister.

Khatiwada feels that this partnership strategy with the World Bank is in line with Nepal’s goal of giving every Nepali equal access to security, justice, good governance, basic services and an opportunity to participate in the developmental process.

Need of the Hour!
According to World Bank, Nepal will need significant financing beyond currently-available public and development aid resources in order to achieve fast-paced growth and fight poverty in its transition to federalism.

In this regard, CPF states that the government’s growth strategy pitching for higher investment and productivity and effective participation by public institutions will need carefully-calibrated policies to draw required private investment in parallel with the federal process.

We will expand our investments — both debt as well as equity — and advisory services for private investment in Nepal. Our efforts will encourage high-quality private investors to support the government’s strategy of inclusive development – Wendy Werner, International Finance Corporation’s Country Head for Nepal, Bangladesh and Bhutan.

Behind CPF
CPF priorities under its developmental agenda for Nepal were formed after a wide range of consultations with the federal, state and local governments.

The results also included recommendations and opinions of Nepal’s related stakeholders and development partners including private sector, civil society, academia, community groups and media.

This includes hearing from over 200,000 citizens across Nepal through SMS and online surveys. The framework aligns with the government’s development priorities and Nepal’s goal to graduate to middle income country status by 2030, said the World Bank in its official release.

WBG Support to Nepal
The World Bank Group has been actively supporting Nepal through its three main arms:

• International Development Association (IDA): Under this concessionary lending arm, WB is currently supporting 21 active Nepali projects at a USD 2.5 billion investment promised under IDA. Under IDA18, WB has indicative resources worth USD 300 million for Nepal for FY 2018-2020 through the IDA Risk Mitigation Regime.
• International Finance Corporation (IFC): This is WBG’s private sector arm in Nepal, which is committed to infuse about USD 800 million-USD 1.2 billion investment in Nepal over the coming five-year period.
• Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency (MIGA): This is WBG’s investment risk insurance arm in Nepal, which is actively finding opportunities to pump in foreign private investment into Nepal. IFC and MIGA use IDA IFC/MIGA Private Sector Window (PSW) and the MIGA Guarantee Facility to underwrite eligible projects.

WBG’s first economic mission to Nepal arrived in 1963 to assess the country’s development prospects and challenges. Following this, the country received its first WB credit in 1969 for a telecommunications project.

Since then, the World Bank continued its support to Nepal and provided USD 4.75 billion in assistance (USD 3.48 billion in credits and USD 1.27 billion in grants), so far.

Hope the World Bank’s country-wise development strategy will offer more benefits to the development of Nepal in the years to come!

The post World Bank’s New Country Framework Focuses Nepal Federalism appeared first on Nepali Sansar.

The new center envisages to promote sustainable development and inclusive development across Nepal.

The Center considers overall economic transformation in line with SDG principles as a key focus area of operations towards Nepal’s development, says former UN Under-Secretary-General Gyan Chandra Acharya, who will be heading the SAWTEE Nepal.

Meanwhile, SAWTEE Chairman Posh Raj Pandey said the Center will bring together policies, politics and expertise engaging all the related stakeholders in their scientific and non-partisan research process.

Nepal SDGs
In his inaugural address, Nepal Minister for Foreign Affairs Pradeep Gyawali informed that Nepal has already begun adopting SDGs at the policy-level and is currently working towards integrating them at gross-root levels of the country.

Gyawali feels that SDG implementation across local levels will help in engaging domestic and international stakeholders in the development process.

Meanwhile, former Foreign Minister Prakash Saran Mahat opined that rule-based implementation of these rights and procedures pertaining to sustainable and inclusive development is key for development.

With private sector leading the growth, the government should continue holding equitable distribution across the development chain, added Mahat.

How SAWTEE Works?
In collaboration with the government, the Center aims to be a catalyst in Nepal’s developmental process through a research, analysis, advocacy and dialogue methodology.

 “The activities of the Center will contribute not only to existing issues and policies, but will also provide alternate ideas to decision makers,” says SAWTEE Chairman.

According to a press release, the Center will majorly focus on: job creation, structural transformation, gender mainstreaming, sustainability, global partnership, and establishing an integrated, holistic & multi-stakeholder approach.

The Center’s activities will include politicians, experts, civil servants, private players, academia, among others.

Overall, SAWTEE’s Nepal aims to develop a well-planned national strategy for a full-fledged transformation of Nepali economy with support of the country’s existing federal, democratic and republican structure.

The post SAWTEE Steps-up for Nepal’s Sustainable Development appeared first on Nepali Sansar.

The three-day meeting planned under the theme ‘Engineering for Prosperous Federal Nepal’ will see a large number of engineers from Nepal and other parts of the world, said NEA in an official release.

“The theme has been chosen to reflect the sentiment and aspirations of the Nepali engineers towards their tireless effort for the prosperity of people,” informed Hare Ram Shrestha, President, NEA.

The meeting will act as a common forum for engineers belonging to wide areas of expertise, wherein, they will engage in discussions and debates on various innovative ideas on the key issues that can contribute to the national development.

More than 1000 Participants

The convention will witness keynote addresses by various engineers on a wide range of topics such as financing development projects, hydropower advancements in Nepal, policy and planning, effective management and research of heritage sites, country’s energy and water potential, among others.

The ‘Energy and Development Expo’ will be the key highlight of the convention, wherein, various development projects and engineering products and services will be presented.

The event is expected to host more than 1,000 national and international participants.

The post Nepali Engineers for Prosperous Federal Nepal appeared first on Nepali Sansar.

Representing their community background, some of the members took oath in their respective languages.

In Janakpur province, out of 107 members, 47 took oath in Maithili, 25 in Bhojpuri, 24 in Nepali and 11 in Hindi.

Seven Provincial Assembly members were elected for the seven different provincial assemblies namely Koshi (Capital: Biratnagar), Janakpur (Janakpur), Bagmati (Hetauda), Gandaki (Pokhara), Lumbini (Rupandehi), Karnali (Surkhet) and Far West (Kairali).

Anuradha Koirala in Province 3

Renowned Nepali human rights activist Anuradha Koirala took oath as the Governor of Province 3 on January 20, 2018.

Koirala has been widely-acclaimed for their extensive social activism through fight against women trafficking, among others and was conferred with the CNN Hero 2010 award.

Continuing her journey as a social worker, she joined the mainstream Nepali politics through Nepali Congress on November 12, 2017.

Govinda Subba for Province 1, Ratneshwar Lal Kayastha for Province 2, Baburam Kunwar for Province 4, Umakant Jha for Province 5, Durga Keshar Khanal for Province 6 and Mohan Raj Malla for Province 7 in Farwest are among others across different provinces.

On New Governance

Meanwhile, the Communist Alliance members met for a discussion on setting top priorities of the new Nepali Government that is yet to be formed on January 21, 2017

The Party Unity Coordination Committee (PUCC) meeting called for formation of a special task force to ensure good governance and development teams.

The resultant task force would set priorities for the new government based on the joint election manifesto to be formed by the two left parties, CPN-UML and CPM-MC.

Power sharing, organisational integration and ideologies for the unified party were among key issues Oli and Dahal discussed, informed PUCC member Narayan Kaji Shrestha.

“We asked the province chiefs of the party to finalize the names according to the clusters as decided by the task force,” Shrestha added while informed that the names would be announced on Jan 26, 2018.

Maoist Centre leader Pun said that the coordination committee endorsed the report and the two top leaders will make any correction if needed.

The post Nepal Provincial Assembly Members Swear In, New Govt Awaiting appeared first on Nepali Sansar.

Nepal is observing the World Cities Day today with the national slogan for this year being ‘Town Planning in Federal Nepal’.

To mark the Day, the Nepali Ministry of Urban Development and related committees organized special programs yesterday.

According to the Ministry Spokesperson Shambhu KC, the Government of Nepal has planned to celebrate the World Cities Day and World Habitat Day together.

Through these programs, the Nepali Government aims at bringing together all the stakeholders for their active role in town planning across the central, provincial and local bodies of the country.

On the occasion, Director General at the Department of Urban Development and Construction Ramesh Prasad Singh informed about the construction of four satellite cities in Kathmandu city.

The United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) declared October 31 of every year as the World Cities Day, on December 27, 2013.

The World Cities Day is followed by the Town Planning Day on November 8 every year.

Kathmandu Most Sensitive to Earthquakes

Improper urban planning and development made Kathmandu become one of the major cities most sensitive to earthquakes, globally.

To address this issue, the government is planning urban development in Kathmandu and across federal Nepal.

For Sustainable Urban living

Nations across the globe observe the World Cities Day as a call for planned and sustainable urban living and celebrate it with the theme: ‘Better City, Better Life’.

Whereas, the theme for World Cities Day 2017 is ‘Innovative Governance, Open Cities’ aimed at overall development and social inclusion.

More than half of the population, globally, reside in urban areas and Nepal is expected to witness around 62 percent urbanization post the reconstruction activity.

However, the records show most of the urban centers in Nepal, other than Kathmandu Valley, fall under ‘ruralpolis’ category, which includes rural areas legally classified as urban centers.

The post World Cities Day 2017: Nepal Mulls Efficient Urban Planning appeared first on Nepali Sansar.

An international media conference with the theme ‘Promotion of Freedom of Expression and the Voice of Marginalized Communities in the Media’ began in Kathmandu yesterday.

Jointly organized by the Federation of Nepali Journalists (FNJ) and the International Alert, the conference witnessed discussions on various key issues including amendments, laws, among others related to the development of Nepal.

In her inaugural address, Nepali Parliament Speaker Onsari Gharti Magar stated that the Nepali Constitution fully guarantees the press freedom and urged the media to ensure due importance to the concerns of marginalized sections of the society.

She termed mass communication as the best means to institutionalize and enhance the democracy.

Onsari further informed that the key task of implementing the Nepali Constitution will be completed with the conclusion of the country’s federal and provincial elections between November 26-December 7, 2017.

In this regard, she urged on the need for amendment and revision of various Acts and regulations of Nepal in line with the federalism.

Meanwhile, FNJ President Govinda Acharya said, “Although the constitution has guaranteed the freedom to write and express, there were challenges to put this into practice.”

Tribhuvan University’s (TU) journalism professor P Kharel pointed at lack of implementation regarding press freedom.

Senior journalist Kishor Nepal also stressed on the need for focus on marginalized communities.

The two-day international conference that will end today has brought together the journalists and media experts from various countries such as Nepal, Sri Lanka, India, Pakistan and Bangladesh, among others.

The post International Media Conference Raises Key Issues of Nepal appeared first on Nepali Sansar.

“As Nepal prepares for an ambitious shift from a unitary to a federal system of government, closer attention to sequencing political, financial and administrative decentralization will be key,” stated the World Bank in its latest report titled ‘Nepal Development Update’, released on September 17, 2017.

It further said that the country’s new fiscal federalism system is suggesting marked asymmetry between stronger decentralization of spending responsibilities and relatively unchanged low decentralization of tax collection powers. “Similar imbalances hold true between regions across the country,” it added.

According to the World Bank, a large proportion of Nepal’s federal spending would likely be passed on to subnational governments starting from FY 2018. It says such a move would lead to increased public spending in the country.

Commenting on the case, Takuya Kamata, the World Bank’s Country Manager for Nepal said, “The subnational governments will play an increasingly critical role in Nepal’s public expenditures. A system of fiscal transfers that is designed for transparency and predictability and supported by a small set of simple rules could go a long way in helping meet the development objectives of federal Nepal.”

On the other side, the World Bank also cautions that unaddressed issues in the new federal system might challenge the budget execution, especially in the coming fiscal year.

According to the report, recent floods in mid-August have largely impacted the rebounding economic growth of Nepal.

Budget Expenditure, a Perennial Problem in Nepal: World Bank

The latest update pointed at the issues related to Nepal Government’s budget planning.

“More than 60 percent of the capital budget was spent in the last quarter of the fiscal year, while expenditure remained significantly below the planned budget, a perennial problem in Nepal. The era of balanced budgets has ended with the fiscal deficit reaching an estimated 3.3 percent of GDP in FY 2017 and expected to increase going forward as well,” the Nepal Development Update said.

With regard to trade, the report noted that the country’s import growth remains strong, while exports and remittances are expected to remain sluggish.

The World Bank releases the Nepal Development Update twice in a year with a prime focus on the country’s economic development over the preceding months, placing them in a longer-term and global perspective.

This report is for the business community, policymakers, analysts and professionals engaging in economic debates related to the country and the public.

The post World Bank Cautions Nepal on Its Federal Government System appeared first on Nepali Sansar.