Some 30 people wait at his secretariat, 20 more wait in the adjoining lounge, and some more still loiter nearby, idly rubbing raw tobacco on their palms. That´s not all! At the entrance of the ministry building, another 30 or so are whiling away the time observing a protest by nurses. They are crowding the entrance as if they themselves are staging a sit-in. This makes it difficult for others to get in and out of the building. [break]
The Health Ministry would have seen at least five times this number of people wanting to meet Minister Uma Kant Chaudhary had he not been away in Pokhara on Tuesday, says a secretariat staffer.
"The minister is not present. But these people are hoping that he will somehow arrive here by evening. They do not believe us when we tell them the minister will not arrive back sooner than Wednesday," he added.
An under-secretary commented that the Health Ministry has become like the venue of a fair featuring an enigmatic healer. "Ever since he assumed office people have been coming here in droves every day just to catch a glimpse of the minister, and if possible say something to him to get their problems solved," he said, adding that the ministry used to be less crowded before Chaudhary´s tenure.
A minister is expected to place high value on his time and spend it on significant policy work and consultations. "But our minister spends vital working hours meeting visitors," said the staffer.
"After noon, our difficulties start. We struggle to manage time for the visitors. People arrive with problems that a minister is not supposed to be dealing with anywhere else in the world," he said. "With so many people to listen to, the minister can barely start his real work before 5 p.m."
Asked why crowds always surround the minister, he said this is chiefly because the Nepali Congress (NC) has been given the Health Ministry after a long time. The staffer, who admitted that he found his own placement at the secretariat because he was a supporter of the party, added that many civil servants who support the NC have an opportunity now to seek solutions to their ´marka´ (problem).
He also informed that a majority of the visitors come with requests for transfers to "good and accessible" places and to get the minister´s recommendations for treatment expenses for "serious medical cases".
The Education Ministry is probably second to the Health Ministry in terms of the number of daily visitors. "I issue chits to over 200 people every day," said a personal assistant to Education Minister Ramchandra Kushwaha.
According to him, visitors cram the minister´s rooms for hours while others wait in the lounge the whole day.
"I have not seen the minister engage with senior ministry staff or consultants regarding significant agenda matters ever since he assumed office," said a joint-secretary.
In both the ministries, most visitors are activists and followers of the political party that the minister represents. A majority of visitors seek ministerial ´Tok Adesh´ (specific orders) on matters of interest to them.
Also visiting the ministers are Constituent Assembly (CA) members seeking favors. "More than a dozen CA members, who don´t need visitor´s chits, come here and meet the minister every day," said a staffer at the Health Ministry.
Education Minister Kushwaha has personally appointed six staffers, each one claiming to be his personal assistant. "Each one brings at least 10 persons every day for Tok Adesh. Though those orders may not bear fruit after being forwarded to line agencies, the minister nevertheless is benevolent enough to sign every order," said an insider.
Ministries located outside Singha Durbar have comparatively more visitors than those inside.
Gate-screening and a strict permission system at Singha Durbar seem to have limited the number of visitors. However, the number of visitors to a certain ministry is also dictated by the magnitude of its jurisdiction. The broader this is, the more the visitors.
Understandably, the Ministry of Culture, Constituent Assembly and Federalism is one of the least visited ministries due to its small structure and limited jurisdiction. "People mostly come here asking for jobs. I tell them that my ministry is not broad enough in jurisdiction to provide such opportunities," said Minister Minendra Rijal.
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