KATHMANDU, June 20: Over a dozen acts required for the operation and management of local governments as envisioned in the new constitution are yet to be finalized even a month after the first phase of local polls held in 283 local units on May 14.
Officials at the Ministry of Federal Affairs and Local Development (MoFALD) informed Republica that the process of formulating and enacting around 14 different such acts is underway. While some of these laws are being drafted, the drafts of others are waiting for approval from the Cabinet and some are under discussion in parliament.
As the government could not enact the act related to the operation of local government after the phase-I election, the Cabinet meeting on May 31 approved the Local Level Service Operation and Management Order, 2074 to expedite the services to be provided by the local governments.
The acts are related to the operation of local governments; local service formation and operation; incentives for office bearers of local units; conducting meeting of village councils and municipal councils; arrangement of central, provincial and local governance; taxation by municipalities and rural municipalities; expenditure of the deposit funds of municipalities and rural municipalities; projection of income and expenditures; formation, management and work assignment of district coordination committee; educational management at local level; regulation and management of cooperative institutions; inter governmental financial management; national natural resources and financial commission; and federal economic procedure.
“As the Local Self-Governance Act 1999 was scrapped after the local election, we vowed to develop an act related to the operation and management of local governance but due to uncertainty, the Cabinet approved the local level service operation and management order, 2074 for the regulation,” joint secretary Rudra Singh Tamang, spokesperson for MoFALD, told Republica.
He said that the Cabinet has already approved the draft of the act related to the operation and management of the local units and that the bill is under consideration at parliament.
Ministry officials said that it has been assigned to form a taskforce to revise the draft.
Tamang informed that of the total acts, 10 will be endorsed by the Cabinet and four will be endorsed by the provincial governments. He further said that parliament will endorse the four sample acts related to local governance and each local unit will amend them so as to suit their needs.
“Some acts are still under discussion at the line ministries while others have already been finalized and submitted to parliament for endorsement,” Tamang added.
Table
Acts related to different sectors that are at various stages of formulation and/or enactment
1. Local government operation
2. Local service formation and operation (Provincial)
3. Perks and incentives related to the local level elected office bearers (Provincial)
4. Conducting meeting of village councils and municipal councils (Provincial)
5. Arrangement of central, provincial and local level governance
6. Taxation by municipalities and rural municipalities (sample)
7. Expenditure from the reserve funds of rural municipalities and municipalities (sample)
8. Estimation of revenue and expenditure (sample)
9. Formation, management and work assignment of district coordination committees (Provincial)
10. Educational management at local level (sample)
11. Regulation and management of cooperative institutions (sample),
12. Inter governmental financial management
13. National natural resources and financial commission
14. Federal economic procedure.