MPs protest plan to bring civil servants ordinance

Published On: November 29, 2018 08:02 AM NPT By: Republica | @RepublicaNepal

KATHMANDU, Nov 29: Lawmakers have come down heavily against the government’s plan to bring the Civil Servants Adjustment Ordinance.

Some parliamentarians from the ruling Nepal Communist Party (NCP) have questioned the government’s intention behind enacting the law when the parliament is not in session. The government has been planning to summon winter session of the parliament in January, three months after the prorogation of the budget session.

Most of the lawmakers protested the government plan at a meeting of the State Affairs Committee (SAC) of the parliament on Wednesday after the secretary at the Ministry of General Administration (MoGA), Dinesh Thapaliya, informed that the ministry has tabled the ordinance at the cabinet for endorsement.

“We want to ask the minister through the secretary why is the government issuing ordinance by avoiding parliament. I suspect the bill includes regressive provisions that go against the spirit of federalism as the government wants to hire civil servants in large numbers in the central government while the provincial and local bodies are without necessary manpower,” said NCP Member of Parliament Yashoda Gurung Subedi.

NCP leaders and former general administration ministers Rekha Sharma and Pampha Bhusal accused the government of depriving the provincial and local levels of much needed human resource.

“Federal ministers appear reluctant to hand over power and authority to the provincial structure. I wonder why the government drafted a completely new ordinance instead of amending the existing one endorsed by parliament last year,” said Sharma.

Main opposition Nepali Congress (NC) lawmaker Amaresh Singh accused the government of bringing the law to weaken federalism and also ignoring the parliament. “They have ignored the parliament to bring the law because they want to weaken federalism,” Singh said. Similarly, NC lawmaker Mina Pandey accused the government of bringing the law through the wrong process.

Rajendra Shrestha of the ruling Federal Socialist Forum Nepal (FSFN) warned the government against bringing the ordinance. “We are in the dark about the content of the ordinance. But if the media reports on the ordinance are true then the government’s intention is to centralize human resources. It must be corrected,” he said.

Nepal Workers and Peasants Party (NWPP) lawmaker Prem Suwal demanded the committee to instruct the government to bring the law through regular parliamentary process. “Parliamentary committees are also considered as mini parliament. This committee should direct the government to stop the ordinance and introduce it through regular parliamentary process,” said Suwal.

Secretary at the Ministry, Thapaliya, informed the SAC that the bills committee of the parliament is currently studying the bill. Asked about the details, Thapaliya said he was not authorized to share the contents to the parliamentary committee.