FEATURES NEWS THE RISING NEPAL (DAILY)

Civil Society In Nepal
People's Empowerment

By Mukti Rijal

THE civil society movement in Nepal received a fillip following the restoration of multi party democracy in 1990.

Guarantee

The Constitution of the Kingdom of Nepal -1990 promugulated following the establishment of multiparty democracy guarantees equal rights to every Nepali citizen irrespective of race, creed, caste and sex.

The constitutional provision on human rights specifically on freedom of association, publications are more elaborate and liberal.

Non government organisations work for people's empowerment. This is based on the view that the masses or the people themselves possess not only the capacity to determine and solve their own problems but the vision and determination as well to build a better society.

The evolution of non-governmental organisations can be seen in the context of development strategies which not only seek to alleviate poverty but seek to achieve sustainability and equity.

Today the non-governmental government organisations are better called or defined with different names and usages. These include non-officials, independent sector, grassroots organisations, private voluntary organisations and non-state actors.

The non-governmental organisations in Nepal are weak both institutionally and lack perspectives for long term development.

Despite the fact that the civil society is yet to emerge as a strong and both capable partners to promote development, their growth and proliferation has established them as a force, albeit weak, to intervene in the development of self reliant communities.

The Local Self Governance Act that come into force recently has recognised civil society organisations as the reliable partners of the local government institutions.

The Local Self Governance Act 1998 provide for active partnership between the local government institutions (LGIs) the VDCs, municipalities and Districts Development Committees. Under the new Act, the partnership between local governments and NGOs is provided in the such areas as Participation of NGOs, user groups and beneficiary organisations in local governance, joint undertakings between local governments, NGOs and private sector and providing assistance and encouragement by LGIs to NGOs, user groups for economic socially oriented, environment or cultural projects, People empowerment and strengthening accountability and transparency.

The Local Self Governance Act requires the local institutions to consult the people. People's participation in local governance essentially deals with the rights of the governed to determine and take hold of their own future. The Acts upholds the right of the people and their organisations to effective and reasonable participation at all levels of social, political and economic decision making and establishes space to enhance the role of the civil society organisations in local governance.

The Local Self Governance Act institutes debureaucratisation allowing for local governments to enter into collaborations and co-operative arrangements with non-government organisations and the private sector.

Section 47 of the Act states "while formulating the plan and service programme of the VDC, the committee must maintain co-ordination with the government and non-governmental organisations engaged providing various services and implementing development programmes in the VDC areas.
Similarly, provision exists in the Act in relation to the co-operative partnership between local governments and non-government organisations.

Section 51 of the Act requires the Village Development Committee to encourage non-government organisations in the task of identifying, formulating supervising, evaluating and maintaining Village development projects.

Likewise, municipalities and districts development committees are obliged to provide encouragement to civil society voluntary organisations.The local govern-ment institutions have to debureaucratise local governance and put emphasis on joint partnership with the non-government sectors in the respective areas. NGOs might share technical expertise with local governments particularly in undertaking local development plans.

Financial Discipline

The Act is based on the principle of democratic legitimacy. Besides the Act envisages the tenets of good governance as accountability and transparency. Moreover, citizens have every right to conduct auditing of the development projects and examine to what extent financial discipline and policy of sound fiscal management is followed at the local level.

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