The Inter Parliamentary Union (IPU), the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) and the World Future Council (WFC) presented the award to Nepal National Assembly Chairperson Ganesh Prasad Timilsina at the 141^st IPU Assembly held between October 13-17, 2019.

Nepal National Assembly Chairperson Ganesh Prasad Timilsina handed over the award to Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli at his official residence in Baluwatar on October 23, 2019 amidst a special ceremony.

The IPU, UNDP and WFC awarded eight inspiring and impactful laws and policies including Nepal’s, out of the 67 shortlisted policies from 36 countries.

“Every year, the most impactful policies tackling humankind’s most pressing challenges are celebrated through the Future Policy Award, the only global award that recognizes policies for the benefit of present and future generations,” read a statement issued by UNDP while announcing the award earlier this month.

“It contains, among other important principles, provisions for youth rights relating to participation and empowerment in Nepal as well as protection from discrimination,” the statement reads further.

The award recognizes and rewards Nepal and its constitution’s efforts to manage conflict peacefully and ensure youth participation and rights.

Speaking about the achievement PM Oli said that Nepal’s constitution has earned the award due to best provisions that acknowledge social values, inclusive representation in policy making and ends discrimination.

Additionally, he also highlighted Nepal’s role in engaging Nepali youth and ensuring a clean environment in the constitution. He further said that Nepal’s constitution adopted democracy, equality, social justice and a discrimination-free society and that has been recognized internationally.

“We will make Nepal as the fastest growing economy in the world within a few years. I urge all to join the national goal of prosperity that can be achieved under this constitution,” PM Oli pledged.

Earlier this week, the UNFPA praised and applauded Nepal’s efforts towards safe motherhood, family planning and women empowerment others.

These and many other achievements are pointing at the progress being made by the Nepal Government for Nepal’s sustainability and development.

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While first phase of the program six years ago has covered 26 districts, the second phase is going to cover the rest.

The government is currently preparing working guidelines to initiate the second stage of survey in 51 districts and identify eligible citizens for poor identity cards that gives them government facilities.

This survey is part of Nepal Government’s ambitious project launched in September 2012 towards successful distribution of poor ID cards to the needy.

The scheme envisages eligible citizens with special benefits such as education scholarships, skill training and health insurance helping them earn a good livelihood.

However, the present government is yet to decide on what benefits will be provided to the card holders.

“As the government will be implementing a computerized data survey in the second phase, we have to create new guidelines,” said Gopi Nath Mainali, Secretary at the Poverty Alleviation Ministry, while informing that the second phase will start in a few months.

The ministry informed that a few indicators out of 18 provisions used in the first phase under the scheme have been revised.

They are currently working on the revisions to develop new indicators to establish poor ID cards’ compatibility with the National Identity Card (NIC). The new budget statement for the current fiscal calls for distribution of NICs within two years.

“We have targeted distributing poor IDs within the same time frame,” added Mainali.

The first phase of the survey identified 391,831 poor households, with 188,235 households as extreme poor, 119,748 as mid-poor and 83,848 as general poor. However, these poor households are still waiting for their special relief packages as they did not get poor ID cards.

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Towards this end, Nepal Government is currently preparing a 25-year plan called ‘Long Term Vision of Nepal’ to transform the country into a ‘developed nation’ by 2043.

Nepal Planning Commission (NPC) has already prepared a concept note and also held discussions with the federal and provincial governments’ officials last week.

“The vision paper is being drafted to give the country a clear direction in achieving the long-term goal of prosperity for the people after the country gained political stability with the elections last year. The main goal of the vision paper is to achieve minimum level of development to be recognized as a developed country by 2043,” said NPC Vice-Chairman Pushpa Raj Kadel.

Besides the Long Term Vision, NPC is also working on a new five-year periodic plan for implementation from the coming fiscal.

While Nepal’s per capital income stands at USD 1,012 currently, the vision aims to double it in the next five years.

In line with this, the ruling government is considering the current fiscal as the foundation year for the country’s future economic prosperity. Government is aiming at an 8 percent economic growth rate in the current fiscal and plans to double it over the coming five-year period.

Under the vision, the country aims to zero-down poverty level, achieve per capita income at the level of industrial economies and ensure employment for nearly 40 percent of population belonging to lower income category.

Besides, the vision also aims to:

• Improve living standards of the populace
• Ensure quality health care
• Bring in modern infrastructure
• Commercialize agriculture sector
• Achieve gender equality
• Ensure balanced conservation of natural resources and their utilization for income generation
• E-Governance, among others

“We plan to publish the vision paper along with the five-year plan before the end of the current fiscal year,” informed Kadel.

In line with development agenda, the government has also paid high regard to infrastructure and other aspects of local development in the Federal Budget.

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According to Nepal Public Service Commission (PSC), a total of 24,129 joined the civil service under the open category and nearly 16, 939 under the reservation quota in the last eight years.

Section-wise, entries under reservation quota included 5,728 women, 4,538 indigenous nationalities, 3,719 from Madhesi group, 1,541 Dalits, 789 differently-abled and 624 of marginalized groups.

The new reservation rule added post promulgation of the Interim Constitution of Nepal 2007 mandates 45 percent civil service seats to aforementioned social groups under the reservation category.

In his opinion on the trend, a PSC member Ashok Jha said the reservation process has helped the government in shedding light on people from marginalized groups to bring them into the mainstream.

“The inclusion system has encouraged people from marginalized communities and groups to appear for the most competitive PSC exams, which itself is an achievement because in the past, people from these communities did not even think of appearing for the exam,” says Ashok Jha.

Jha further informed that the reservation process has motivated many aspiring candidates as evident in their excelling performance in the open category exams.

“Now, it is hard to see any reserved seat not being filled,” adds Jha, pitching for the continuation of reservation policy in the country at least for another 10 years period.

Meanwhile, a former chief secretary said the time has arrived for review of the reservation policy that should be reviewed once in every 10 years.

In this regard, he urged the government to review the inclusion policies and ensure that they benefit the needy.

“There should be only one-time inclusion quota for intended groups,” said the former chief secretary, urging the government to also check the quality of the selected applicants.

“The irony of the reservation policy is that a candidate can get selected by merely securing 40 marks, whereas a candidate competing under the open category may not be lucky even if she/he scores 65 marks,” the ex-government official added.

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As the reports say, the government is negotiating on a new deal with 14 donor agencies to raise a fund of Rs 23 billion to support civil services capacity development.

The Ministry of Federal Affairs and General Administration (MoFAGA) is planning to utilize this fund over a period of four years towards capacity enhancement of civil servants across 750 local units.

According to MoFAGA, the country currently has around 17,900 civil servants across local units.

Whereas, Dinesh Thapaliya, Secretary at MoFAGA feels that the country would still require more civil servants for effective functioning of local bodies. In a briefing to the State Affairs Committee (SAC), he said the country is currently short of 40,000 civil servants.

“Government is planning to spend Rs 23 billion on capacity enhancement and training for civil servants at the local units over the next four years. We have chosen 14 donor agencies for the purpose, but we are yet to sign the official agreement,” said Thapaliya.

He further informed that the funds will be used through the provincial governments without any direct involvement of federal or local governments.

Civil Servants, Need of the Hour
Under the plan, the Ministry will classify all local units into 10 categories based on population, revenue, infrastructure and geography.

And, even a small local unit will have at least three special officers including an education officer, an engineer and a chief executive.

According to MoFAGA, this situation is the result of government’s failure to deploy required number of civil servants at the local level. “Most of the civil servants transferred to local units in Province 2 were either sent back by the local units or ran into complaints of failure to perform,” says Thapaliya.

However, officials claim that lack of timely deployment is majorly due to delay in the passage of the Federal Civil Servants Bill.

The cabinet approved 45,858 civil service positions at the central level including for different bodies such as courts, Foreign Ministry and Attorney General’s Office and has given only 21,399 for the provinces and 58,000 for local levels.

Thapaliya feels that 28,000 civil servants will be enough to meet related requirements at the center.

Event lawmakers, opposition party leaders and others find fault with the government’s act of utilizing funds for training and seminars and urge that it should instead focus on producing more civil servants.

Let’s hope the new deal will give needed push to address the civil servant requirements at all levels of the country.

Also Read:

• Staff Shortage Alert! Provincial Governments Face the Heat

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Towards this end, the government blocked access to nearly 16,000 porn sites operating in the country’s internet space.

“After daughters and daughters-in-laws started feeling insecure at home, we started blocking such sites,” informed Gokul Baskota, Nepal Minister for Communications and Information Technology.

Speaking further on the growing violence against women resulting in rapes, murders and other illicit activities, the Minister said that this is because of insane people and degenerate mentality.

“The government has not gone insane. Not all Nepalis are insane. Thus, incidents of rape and murder will go down gradually,” added the Minister.

The government’s announcement to ban online pornography has come at a time when the whole country is facing heat waves of protests at all levels over rape and murder of a 13-yr-old school girl named Nirmala Pant from far west Nepal in the month of July 2018.

#JusticeForNirmala has been trending in Nepal in support of protesters demanding justice for Nirmala’s family who had earlier publicly appealed for justice.

Adding to the heat arrived another incident that involved rape and killing of another 10-yr-old school girl in September 2018, followed by acid attack on two other teen-sisters Samjhana and Sushmita Das.

Reaction to Ban
Responding on the ban of online pornography, Shubha Kayastha of the Internet Society Nepal, says, “It is merely a diversionary tactic to hide the government’s incompetence in prosecuting rapists.”

Kayastha is doubtful if the government’s move would be able to curb such illicit acts again women and girls.

Kayastha suggests that better approach to address sexual violence would rather be empowering people and take necessary strict measures against the accused.

“Instead of censoring materials on the internet, the government should direct its attention towards ending impunity instead of trying to find quick-fixes,” says Kayastha.

Now, it’s time for the public to voice their opinions on the proposed move!

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Nepal Rastra Bank (NRB) launched the Nepal Financial Inclusion Portal developed in collaboration with the United Nations Capital Development Fund (UNCDF) with an aim to give a realistic picture about financial access and usage of related services in Nepal.

The portal provides:

• Consolidated analytical reports on financial inclusion for policy intervention driven by data
• Helps regulatory in effective reporting of their financial data in a systematic manner
• Support to central bank and governmental bodies in preparing a national financial structure to increase financial access

“The availability of data and information on banking and financial access and inclusion helps the government in formulating necessary policies and programmes targeted to the rural areas. It is very important for policymakers as they can develop policies and financial strategies by looking at this portal,” NRB Governor Chiranjibi Nepal.

According to NRB, the portal will also list the data of remote rural areas that are not easily accessible even for the government and regulatory bodies.

Chiranjibi feels that the portal will help both the central and state governments in developing an efficient financial structure that would enhance financial access, thus driving overall economic growth of the country.

By bringing in a financial inclusion, the new portal is expected to increase the ability of local levels in gaining complete access to government services.

UNDP on Nepal’s Financial Inclusion
Speaking on the side-lines of the portal launch, UNDP Deputy Country Director Ayshanie Medagangoda-Labe pitched on the need for literacy and technology as means to achieve financial inclusion.

Illiteracy, connectivity, lack of savings & income, and distrust in banking or financial institutions are some of the key barriers for financial inclusion, she added.

In this regard, she said the new portal is definitely an opportunity for Nepal in achieving its Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) under the 2030 agenda.

“One of the aims of the SDGs is to leave no one behind. The challenge that we have in front of us is how to get the financial access, literacy, infrastructure and technology to these 753 local units,” adds Ayshanie.

“If the data is available, you can know the needs and behaviors of consumers,” said Francois Coupienne of the UNCDF, while adding that as a tremendous opportunity for policy makers.

“There is a huge gap between the different needs and aspirations of each individual and the ‘one size fits all’ approach of the financial services providers. Innovation, technology and data will play a key role in filing this gap,” adds Francois.

Also Read:

• NRB Estimates Nepal’s Gasoline Spend at Rs 170 billion for FY 2017-18

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In an official release, IFJ and its affiliates Federation of Nepali Journalists (FNJ) and the Nepal Press Union (NPU) raised serious concerns stating that the new Act has some restrictive provisions and urged for immediate amendments to the same.

“Nepal’s new Criminal Codes Act 2018 curtails freedom of expression and the press. Some provisions of the Act, especially Sections 293 to 308 relating to privacy and defamation, are restrictive to the press freedom and criminalize expression,” reads an IFJ release.

IFJ pointed at few Sections of Nepal’s Criminal Code 2018 in its release, which include:

• Section 293, which doesn’t allow listening or recording conversations without consent
• Section 294, which prohibits publicizing private information without consent
• Section 295, which disallows capturing photos without consent
• Section 296, which disagrees with selling or publishing photos for commercial purpose without permission of the subject covered in the photographs
• Section 298, which is against receiving/sending or publishing unauthorized information on an electronic medium
• Section 305, which condemns slander
• Section 306, which is against acts including those in satirical ways.

The new Code considers violation of rules under aforementioned sections as punishable offense subjecting the convict to 1-3 years imprisonment and Rs 10,000-30,000 (USD 100-300) penalty.

In this regard, IFJ supports the Nepali journalists’ unions such as Federation of Nepali Journalists (FNJ) and Nepal Press Union (NPU) who have been raising similar concerns since the day the Act was brought to implementation on August 17, 2018.

IFJ expresses serious concerns over the restrictive provisions of the Criminal Codes Act of Nepal; and demands immediate amendments to ensure they adhere to the international standards and principles of freedom of expression and press freedom. At the time when Nepali media and journalists are facing security threats, such provisions will be misused to harass journalists and media; and obstruct independent as well as investigative journalism  –  IFJ Official Release

The new code put forth by the Oli-led Nepali Government came as a replacement to the country’s 15 existing laws and 55-year-old civil & criminal laws.

What FNJ Says?
More than 80 journalists faced criminal cases and harassment due to one provision in the Electronic Transaction Act for their news. The new Act has dozens of such provisions that criminalizes written or spoken expression; and journalists face imprisonment up to three years for merely writing news. This is against the international standards and principles of press freedom; as well as the Constitution of Nepal.  – Govinda Acharya, President, FNJ

The NPU condemns the Act with provisions that restrict journalists to report, write and take photograph. Such restrictions are against the democratic norms and values; and indicate towards authoritarianism. The NPU demands immediate amendment in the unacceptable provisions of the law. – Badri Sigdel, President, NPU

Taking their move ahead, FNJ has also announced a nation-wide agitation from August 28 to September 7, 2018.

Also Read:

• New Law to Check Transparency in NGO Activities
• Nepal Criminal Code Draws Criticism, ‘Press Freedom’ Plays Vital
• Nepal Criminal Code Sought for Fight Against Rape Victims
• Nepal Civil Code and Criminal Code Acts to Ensure Justice

The post Nepal Criminal Code 2018: IFJ Serious, Calls ‘Criminalizing Press Freedom’ appeared first on Nepali Sansar.

The Ministry of Home Affairs enforced the ‘Foreign Citizens Monitoring Guideline’ to ensure strict monitoring of foreigners and their activities in the country.

Ensuring compliance to visa rules and curbing illegal activities are two of the key objectives of the new guidelines.

A Three-tier Monitoring
With special mechanisms across three different levels, the new regulation proposes to maintain national security and protection of boundaries, among others on top priority.

Under the guidelines, the monitoring activity will be conducted under three tiers: District Monitoring Committees, Central Monitoring Directives Committee and Monitoring & Implementation Committee.

District Monitoring Committee: Headed by Chief District Officers, this committee will foresee monitoring activities across the district levels with the support of National Investigation Department, Police & Armed Police Force, Tourism, Labor and Immigration offices.

Central Monitoring Directives Committee (CMDC): Headed by the Home Secretary, the Committee comprises of Joint Secretaries from different ministries including Home, Foreign Affairs, Labor & Employment and Tourism along with key officials from Nepal Police, Armed Police Force, Immigration and National Investigation departments.

Monitoring and Implementation Committee: Headed by the Director General of Immigration Department and its members along with officials from Tourism Board, among other departments, this committee will keep a close watch on illegal entry points and foreigners’ hiding zones.

Crime Control Information Mechanism: Reporting to CMDC, this special mechanism will have complete information about every foreign visitor including their places of visit, activities and duration of stay, among other key aspects.

Regulatory, Need of the Hour
The latest decision is coming in the backdrop of issues reported over misuse of visa services and local laws among foreigners.

According to the government, some of the foreign visitors on tourist visas were reportedly found to have taken up employment in the local NGOs and opened their own businesses, locally.

As the immigration officials say, there was a poor monitoring of foreign visits to the country due to lack of relevant directives and monitoring mechanisms in place.

They are hopeful that the new directives will facilitate ways for strict monitoring and special security checks upon suspicion of any illegal activity.

Under the new directives, every individual or hotels or resorts hosting foreigners will have to provide all the relevant information to the respective committees, and the immigration officers can ride any place upon suspicion, say the officials.

The new regulation calls for an immediate arrest of any foreigner misusing visa services or overstaying locally.

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