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PRIVATE GUARDS |
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PRIVATE GUARDS |
Security Under Scrutiny The government has made
little effort to bring the plethora of security firms under a legal framework By AKSHAY SHARMA The number of private firms providing
security services has grown sharply since the restoration of democracy in 1990. Schools,
offices and private residences have people in uniform guarding the premises and keeping an
eye on unusual movements. Amid the violence, insecurity and
instability gripping the country over the last few years, these firms have emerged as one
of rare success stories. Now security firms need to be monitored by the government, say
experts. More than 200 agencies have been registered
with the Nepal Security Professionals Association (NSA). Countless others are not
affiliated, which makes it difficult to put a precise figure on the size and scale of the
sector. The government has made no effort to bring these organizations and their employees
under a legal framework. Security agents say there has been a huge
demand for private guards in recent years. These firms employ some 10,000 people. At a
recent interaction program in the capital, security operators asked the government to
facilitate the operations of their firms. "There has been overwhelming demand of
private security services and the number of security agencies has skyrocketed. So have the
problems surrounding the security business," said Narayan Singh Gurung, chairman of
the NSA. "No law has been formed to regulate private security agencies. With the
porous border, the crime rate in the country will grow. It is high time the government
came up with a regulatory mechanism to deal with the situation." The security agencies do follow a clear and
uniform set of rules and codes. The government has chosen to look aside from its
responsibility to curb, monitor or come up with a plan to look into the activities of
agencies that have opened under the banner of security service. Anyone with a Nepalese citizenship
certificate can register a security agency. Experts say there should be strict rules to
monitor the activities, especially amid the deterioration in the law-and-order situation. There has been a rise of the demand for
private security firms throughout the world. The British foreign ministry approached a
security company in the 1990s. The company registered a beer company in Somalia and ended
up toppling the government. As soon as the firm did this, the British troops landed in
Somalia as a part of the United Nation's multinational peace keeping force. "As the agencies claim to have acting
as supplementary arms of the government's security apparatus, those employed also complain
of being manhandled by the police just because they happened to be wearing the insignia
that looks similar to those used by the police. Maybe they feel challenged because before
it was only them who were in charge of the Speaking at the program, Minister of State
for Home Devendra Raj Kandel, said the government was ready to cooperate with the private
security operators. "The government considers the contributions of private security
operators as very crucial," he said. However, Kandel had his own words of
caution. "The government has allowed private security guards to bear arms on the
condition that they would not be misused. But people have doubts on the quality of service
they are providing," he said. "The security agents need to have a
dress code. The uniform and insignia used by the police should not be used by these
agencies in order to avoid confusion," Kandel said. "These private guards should
cooperate with the security forces in the ongoing operations against the Maoists."
While that may be an arduous challenge, the minister's appeal also bears testimony to the
growth of the sector. |
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editor: spotligh@mos.com.np |
