KATHMANDU, July 1: The members of the House of Representatives were ‘totally in the dark’ about a sub-clause in the Federal Civil Service Bill 2080 BS passed on Sunday, which nullifies the much-hyped provision related to the cooling-off period barring retired civil servants from taking other high-profile positions within two years of retirement.
The clause 82 sub-clause 4 of the bill sets a two-year ‘cooling-off period’ for retired government employees, restricting them from taking constitutional or governmental positions. However, sub-clause 5 of the same clause mentions that civil servants of secretary and joint secretary levels can still take such positions.
The clause 82 sub-clause 5 of the bill allows civil servants of first class gazetted officers and special class gazetted officers to take constitutional and diplomatic positions as well as positions at inter-governmental agencies and international development partners.
The controversial sub-clause 5 was initially presented as sub-clause 4, but was replaced with the current sub-clause 4 after it faced criticism in the parliament.
While a number of lawmakers welcomed and appreciated the passage of the bill on Sunday, focusing on the anticipated positive changes due to the introduction of the cooling period, none of them seemed aware of the contradictory clause in the bill.
MPs cry foul: Bureaucrats tweaked cooling-off clause on purpose
Delegation of lawmakers to meet Speaker Ghimire
As news reports emerged pointing out the blunder made by the lawmakers, a delegation of lawmakers have decided to draw the attention of the Speaker to the bill passed by the HoR on Sunday.
Even the Chair of the State Affairs Committee, Ramhari Khatiwada, expressed confusion and concern over the inclusion of the contradictory sub-clause. “We were confident the cooling-off period remained intact when the bill was passed by Parliament. But now, it seems someone inserted the word ‘except’ to mislead the lawmakers,” Khatiwada told Republica.
According to the State Affairs Committee member Hridayram Thani, members of the committee, including the committee President Khatiwada, are scheduled to form a delegation to meet with Speaker Devraj Ghimire on Tuesday. Members of the State Affairs Committee have reportedly been enraged with the contradictory sub-clause in the cooling period in the bill.
“The bill was taken to the Parliament by the Chairman of the State Affairs Committee, by including provisions for cooling period,” Lawmaker Thani told Republica, “However, we are surprised that the bill passed by the House of Representatives states that ‘special class and first class civil servants may take constitutional or diplomatic appointments and other appointments made by the Government of Nepal’.”
He said that the cooling period has no meaning if it allows the secretaries and joint secretaries to take constitutional and diplomatic positions within the cooling period. “We made the arrangement for the cooling period by working laboriously,” he said, “But there was no point in keeping or not keeping a cooling period after the bill stated that first class and special class civil servants could take constitutional or diplomatic appointments.”
Members of the State Affairs Committee have pledged to send the bill to the National Assembly only after amending the sub-clause 5. According to a lawmaker, even if it is passed by the House of Representatives, there is still room for the Speaker or the National Assembly to correct the bill.
Blunder from secretariat of State Affairs Committee
According to Thani, the bill passed by the State Affairs Committee was sent to the Secretariat of the committee to adjust the language. The Secretariat had sought cooperation from the Ministry of Federal Affairs and General Administration and the Ministry of Law.
“In the name of language adjustment, high-ranking officials may have kept the phrase ‘they cannot take appointments to posts other than constitutional or diplomatic appointments and other appointments made by the Government of Nepal’,” said a lawmaker of the State Affairs Committee.
Earlier, some secretaries, including Chief Secretary Ek Narayan Aryal, lobbied not to introduce a cooling period in the civil service bill. They had also met Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli and suggested that there should be no cooling period.
According to sources, PM Oli agreed with Chief Secretary Aryal after his meeting with the chief secretary and secretaries. He also called up Federal Affairs Minister Raj Kumar Gupta and instructed him not to keep a cooling period in the draft, but Federal Affairs Minister Gupta was adamant on the cooling period.