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In Kathmandu, the State Affairs and Good Governance Committee’s sub-committee under the Federal Parliament has proposed a mandatory cooling-off period for senior government officials who obtain leave to be appointed to other constitutional bodies. The sub-committee, formed under the leadership of Nepali Congress MP Dilendra Prasad Badu, presented the proposal to extend the cooling-off period for such officials in order to prevent them from being immediately appointed to other bodies after taking leave.
The sub-committee conducted discussions and prepared a report on the issue mentioned in the legislative bill, giving a one-month period to explain the proposal. The sub-committee’s report highlighted the dissatisfaction of some secretaries in the government regarding the appointment of officials to other bodies, despite being on leave. The proposal suggests preventing officials from being appointed to various bodies within Nepal for one year and up to two years for foreign bodies after taking leave.
Representative Ramesh Khatri from Kansai Nepal News expressed his opinion on the matter, stating that the issue of the cooling-off period has sparked discontent among government employees. However, the sub-committee recommended including the cooling-off period in the same bill.
Furthermore, the sub-committee discussed the inclusion of an additional secretary in ministries to prevent the appointment of one secretary to multiple ministries. There was consensus within the committee regarding the creation of an additional secretary position, while there was opposition to the idea of creating a rotating system for additional secretaries after reducing the number of secretaries.
Regarding the provision to increase the retirement age of civil service employees from 58 to gradually reaching 60 years, the sub-committee’s proposal has been met with agreement. Additionally, the proposal suggests reducing the term of office for the Chief Secretary and Secretary positions. The current three-year tenure for the Chief Secretary would be reduced to two years, while the five-year term for Secretaries would be shortened to four years.
In a related development, discussions have arisen within major political parties about the trade union provisions in the proposed Federal Civil Service Bill. While there was initial consensus among party leaders not to include trade unions, later discussions were held within major parties on the matter. The sub-committee of the State Affairs Committee decided to keep the provision regarding trade unions after warnings from affiliated employees of powerful parties. However, Member of Parliament Chanda Karki Bhandari expressed a different opinion on the matter, indicating that she had not agreed to include trade unions in the bill.
Ramesh Khatri, the representative of Kansai Nepal News, shared his perspective on the issue, mentioning that while there was initially an agreement among party leaders not to include trade unions, they eventually decided to include them. He emphasized the importance of having official trade unions but expressed reluctance to include party-specific trade unions.
The 11-member sub-committee included Ashok Kumar Rai, Ishwari Devi Nyupane, Chanda Karki Bhandari, Prakash Adhikari, Buddhiman Tamang, Raghuji Pant, Rajendra Pandey, Lilanath Shrestha, Sarvendranath Shukla, and Hitaraj Pandey.
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Author: MAYA | HARUTO
Posted at: March 28, 2025 3:00 am
