Lack of the required legislations are causing difficulties in executing day-to-day duties.

In its first Inter-Province Council (IPC) meeting at the Office of the Prime Minister and Council of Ministers (OPMCM) at Kathmandu on December 09, 2018, Province CMs met to express their concerns over absence of adequate autonomy and required civil servants in their respective provinces.

Province 1 CM Sher Dhan Rai, Province 2 Lal Babu Raut, Province 3 Dor Mani Paudel and Province 4 Prithvi Subba Gurung were present at the PMO.

On the other hand, Province 5 CM Shankar Pokharel, Karnali Province and Sudur Paschim Trilochan Bhatta are scheduled to meet the PM regarding the same on December 10, 2018.

Besides the aforementioned officials, the important meeting is seeing the participation of all ministries secretaries and other senior government officials.

Province 2 CM Raut shared with the press that they have informed PM Oli about the various problems due to lack of the federal government’s cooperation.

“We put emphasis on formulating necessary laws, adjustment of civil servants and coordination between the federal and provincial governments,” he said.

Provincial Public Service Commission
The delay in the introduction of the Federal Civil Service Act and the Federal Police Act has led to the formation of the Provincial Public Service Commission created by provincial governments to hire civil servants and deploy provincial police organization.

Raut informed that PM Oli said these problems have surfaced since federalism is a new exercise in Nepal.

“The PM has asked us to work together with the federal government to resolve the problems seen in the implementation of federalism,” he said.

Problems Discussed by CMs
Province 1: According to sources, Province 1 CM Rai complained that the lack of a Provincial Public Service Commission and coordination between federal governments disabled provincial governments in executing day-to-day business, effectively.

Province 4: Likewise, Province 4 CM Gurung asked the federal government to grant provincial governments the authority to collect taxes. Additionally, he also demanded for a secretariat to ensure coordination between the two government levels and provide civil servants to the provinces.

Province 2 was among other provinces, which were agitated over extreme delay on formulation of the Federal Police Act and went a step ahead by recruiting civil servants on a contract basis.

Overall, the meeting discussed issues such as policy-making, formulation of laws, natural resources distribution and human resource management among others.

Speaking at the meeting PM Oli said, since federalism was a new concept in Nepal, provincial CMs should learn from their experience so far and join the process of strengthening Nepal’s federalism.

He also assured the CMs that the necessary federal laws will come into play by mid-March through the winter-season of the federal parliament.

“The office of the chief ministers, offices of the provincial ministers and their residences were not even in our imagination until some time ago. We may have experienced some difficulties while addressing several of such issues,” Oli said.

“No one becomes a champion immediately after joining a game. He becomes a champion as he continues playing. Federalism is a similar game for us. But we will come out as champions,” he added.

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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.

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