The Nepalese Administration
The lack of efficiency and expeditious response to INGOs
needs by the various governmental departments and agencies is mainly due to the archaic
system of administration that is currently in place. During our three-decades long
presence in Nepal, we have not observed any significant efforts by the various governments
in power to modernize and simplify the administration. Although computers are the backbone
of efficiency in developed countries, they are still rare in the majority of Nepalese
governmental offices. Anyone living in the western world who may be complaining about
governmental red tape in his or her own country should come to Nepal to experience what
real governmental red tape is like.
The file and record keeping system currently in place
complements the archaic system of governmental administration. As an example, in the third
year of our second agreement with the Social Welfare Council, we needed some assistance.
Any assistance sought has to go through the same bureaucratic approval process as was the
case with the original agreement itself. Although our agreement was only two years old,
the Finance Ministry that was one of key governmental agencies involved in the approval of
our agreement with the Council, could no longer find any record of our organization. We
actually had to obtain from the Council a photocopy of the original approval letter by the
Finance Ministry to prove that our agreement had indeed been approved by them.
Whenever we may have to seek any assistance that involves
the approval by numerous governmental agencies, we usually allow several months for the
process to complete. In the fall of 1995, we have made a specific request to the Council
in accordance with our agreement. After the request has been approved by its chief
executive officer, the Council would then send a letter of recommendation to the Ministry
responsible for the social sector. Subsequently, that Ministry has to send its own letters
of recommendation to all other Ministries and governmental agencies that need to be
involved in the approval process. Six months after our request was made, we have contacted
the Ministry responsible for the social sector concerning the approval of our request, but
to our dismay, the Ministry could not find any trace of the documentation it had received
from the Council six months earlier.
There is also very little, if any, delegation of authority
within the Nepalese governmental agencies. For instance, the Social Welfare Council is in
reality a one person operation dependent on the presence of its chief executive officer -
the Member-Secretary. All incoming correspondence has to be seen by the Member-Secretary,
before it is passed onto the appropriate department to which it was addressed. The
Member-Secretary also has to approve the text of any outgoing correspondence before it can
be signed by the respective section officer. During his or her absence, the entire
institution grinds to a halt as was the case in the spring 1997. In February 1997, the
government removed the then Member-Secretary from office. A few days later, there was a
change of government in Nepal and nearly two months had passed before the new government
appointed another Member-Secretary. During the two months without a chief executive
officer, the Council could not conduct any business. There was nobody within the Council
with authority that would allow the sending of a letter to another government agency, not
even to the Ministry responsible for the social sector to which it is subordinate. This
can become very frustrating in case some urgent business needs to be taken care of.
The government employees are generally very helpful,
however, they have to work within the framework of a rigid and outdated bureaucratic
system. Furthermore, the system does not allow any deviation from the adopted rules
regardless of what the circumstances may be. The INGOs can only conduct business through
the Council, even if the assistance of another government agency may be needed. The
Council again can conduct business only through its next level of authority, which is the
Ministry responsible for the social sector. For instance, should we need some assistance
that requires the approval of the Finance Ministry, we have to write to the Council, the
Council then sends a letter to the Ministry of Social Welfare, subsequently this Ministry
sends a letter to the Finance Ministry. Should the Finance Ministry require any
clarification, even if it concerns a trivial matter, it will not contact us directly, but
follow the same route back to the original source, and our reply has to be again channeled
in the same manner as the original request. Such procedural system makes a prompt response
to any matter virtually impossible.
Furthermore, the manner in which some of the government
business is being conducted is very wasteful. This is due to the fact that no proper
record keeping system for future reference exists. For instance, in order for any INGO
representative to obtain the government's permission to monitor his or her organization's
development activities in Nepal, some forty sheets of paper and about ten passport
pictures are required. This is not just applicable when a person applies for the first
time, but every time. Since this permit has to be renewed every two years, with no proper
record keeping system on the government's side in place, it is even doubtful that one
could find the previous documentation as we have ourselves experienced on several
occasions in the past.