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COVER STORY |
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COVER STORY |
LOCAL BODIES IN
A LIMBO For the past two years, the
country is devoid of elected local bodies, which are considered as the flagship of
representative and participatory democracy. By failing to extend the tenure of elected
representatives two years ago, then government committed a blunder triggering the
systematic collapse of the pillars of grass-root democracy. Worse than the destruction of
physical infrastructures, the void has resulted in the logjam in local leadership;
development standstill and reverse decentralization. Even though it can use the option of
restoring the elected bodies, the government is floundering with ‘innovative’
ideas. In fact, the current government has moved one step back by re-appointing government
officials even though the ruling UML party had won two-thirds of positions in the previous
local elections. All this is occurring at a time when the Maoists have launched vicious
attacks against the vitals of grass-root democracy. Almost half of the VDC buildings have
been destroyed – and along with them the values of local democracy, too, have been
trampled. At a time when the nation is in the throes of extreme instability; more not less
devolution of power to the local bodies could address many ills plaguing it By SANJAYA DHAKAL Ghanashyam Khatiwada served as chairman of
the remote Letang VDC of Morang district for one decade. Representing the Unified Marxist
Leninist (UML) party Khatiwada won two elections. Two years ago when then government (led
by present Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba) failed to extend the tenure of elected
bodies even though it could not hold new elections, Khatiwada, like 216,000 other elected
local representatives was booted out of the office.
However, two years down the line,
Khatiwada has no time to relax. People still keep coming to him with various problems.
Whether they have to get a citizenship certificate, birth certificate, marriage
certificate, death certificate or passport; whether they want some basic infrastructures
in the village, they always knock his door. “The people never go to the VDC
secretaries appointed by the government. Though I no more have any authority, they keep
coming to me and I have to help them with the process,” said Khatiwada. Khatiwada’s state is shared by most of
the former elected representatives. “There is no way the people are going have faith
on some bureaucrats appointed by the government whose loyalty will always be towards his
masters,” added Jeebachha Shaha, former chairman of Phulbariya VDC of Siraha
district. Krishna Prasad Sapkota, president of the
District Development Committee Federation (DDC Federation) and former president of Kavre
DDC, wishes to term the decision to create a vacuum in the local bodies two years ago as
the ‘biggest blunder’ on the part of the government. “We are currently witnessing how this
political vacuum has been exploited by the Maoists and how the absence of elected
officials is resulting in the systematic decimation of the principles, norms and values of
democracy,” said Sapkota. The vacuum in local bodies is not a minor
issue. The nation had invested billions of rupees and priceless time and efforts in
promoting the concept of decentralization through local governance. Since the time of
Panchayat regime, Nepal practiced the local governance.
The late King Mahendra had introduced
the local government concept through the establishment of Village Panchayat, City
Panchayat, District Panchayat and so on. Many prominent leaders of then banned parties
also took part in those elections. The practice of local bodies during party-less
Panchayat regime succeeded in instilling sense of democracy and ownership. Moreover, it
groomed a lot of leaders, many of whom are active in current multi-party democracy set-up
as well. Leaders like Arjun Narsingh KC of Nepali Congress (NC), Rajendra Pandey of the
UML, Buddhiraj Bajracharya apart from most of the leaders of the Rastriya Prajatantra
Party (RPP) got the first lessons of electoral politics and local democracy during that
period. Efforts to demolish the grass-root
democracy are going to have a long-term effect on the development of democracy in the
country. Already thousands of formerly elected officials out of over 200,000 that were
elected in the local elections of 2054 (1997) have started to hang up their gloves.
“Thousands of them are displaced. Thousands others have left for jobs overseas in the
middle-east or other countries. These were the local leaders that had been developed after
huge investment by the state. Unfortunately, nobody has given any attention to this
situation,” rued Ganga Lal Tuladhar, former MP and a leader of the UML. Strangely, at a time when the major
political parties conducted big agitation against regression, they did not raise the issue
of local bodies with the same strength. Even the UML party, which had made the restoration
of elected bodies as one of its major agenda, ate its words once it went to power. Minister for Local Development Yubaraj
Gyawali, an influential leader of the UML, has assured that he would soon make an
‘appropriate’ decision to run the local bodies. But he seems to be unable to
convince his coalition partners about the need of the hour. Instead of restoration, there
are now talks of forming four-party committees to operate the local bodies.
In 2054 election, the UML had swept
two-thirds of the total seats in the local bodies and it had a party interest in
restoration of the elected bodies. When even such party is unable to restore the elected
local units, it is anybody’s guess what course the country is taking with regards to
the functioning of the local bodies. Back To Square One After the new government led by Sher
Bahadur Deuba came to office over three months ago, there was an expectation that it would
rectify the past mistakes in operating the local bodies. Instead, the government replaced the
nominated leaders of local bodies by re-appointing the government officials like
secretaries, Local Development Officers (LDOs) and chief executives to head VDCs, DDCs and
municipalities. The move effectively brought the country back to square one to the day two
years ago when PM Deuba refused to extend the tenure of local bodies even though he could
not hold new elections. In the interregnum during the tenure of
Prime Minister Surya Bahadur Thapa a year ago, the government had initiated efforts to
nominate political persons to run the bodies. The government did give first priority to
appoint the former elected representatives in their respective posts. Unfortunately, the leading parties like the
UML, NC and others refused even to acknowledge Thapa government terming it as regressive
and lost an opportunity to re-induct elected officials. Some former representatives like
Kathmandu mayor Keshav Sthapit accepted the offer and operated the bodies for a couple of
months.
Sthapit launched with vigor the
development efforts like road expansion in the city and helped people forget that there
was a vacuum in the metropolitan. “When even nominated persons like
Sthapit can do so much, just imagine what could happen if all the elected representatives
are re-installed,” said an official at the Ministry of Local Development. However, the government seems bent on
operating the bodies through bureaucrats. “It is ludicrous to think that plans
drafted in the center by agencies like the National Planning Commission would always be
appropriate at local level,” concedes Chitra Lekha Yadav, deputy speaker of the House
of Representatives and a central leader of the ruling NC (Democratic). “I have found
in the past that center makes plans guessing certain parts will be affected by drought and
certain parts by flood, which might not be correct in reality,” she added. Another politician Bhuwan Pathak of the
ruling RPP also shares Yadav’s views. “It is very true that there is no
alternative to elected representatives operating the local bodies,” he said. Destroyed Values In the last nine years of insurgency, local
units became the favorite target of the Maoists. Out of the total 3913 VDCs, buildings of
2000 VDCs were destroyed – some partially some completely. Priceless documents, development plans,
among others, were also destroyed along with the buildings. According to Ghanashyam
Khatiwada, who is a central member of National VDC Federation, up to 150 VDC functionaries
have already been killed due to the conflict. Over 31 were abducted. At least three mayors
were also murdered and bombs were exploded at different municipality buildings and ward
offices.
Such systematic campaign of
decimation has not only resulted in human and property destruction but, equally
importantly, in the destruction of democratic values, norms and principles. “The values of democracy like
people’s participation, their voluntary consent, rule of law have been severely
undermined in the last two years when there were no elected bodies,” said Khatiwada.
“Likewise, accountability, responsibility, transparency and efficiency were
sacrificed in the same period. The government appointed bureaucrats as well as nominated
heads were unable to work as per the spirit of the local self governance.’ All agree that degradation of values could
be an irreparable loss for the country, which is still struggling to sustain democracy.
Stalled Grooming Local bodies used to provide a perfect
field for grooming elected leadership – the vanguards of democracy. Ever since the
Panchayat regime, people contested elections at the local level and practiced a democratic
exercise, which stood them in good stead after the restoration of democracy in the country
in 1990. Many former leaders joined and even succeeded in the democratic environment. Leadership cannot be built overnight. It
has to be groomed. And what better way than to groom it from the grass-root level.
However, due to the impasse in the local bodies for the past two years, this process of
grooming, too, has suffered. Worse, the vacuum in the local level, has
rendered many leaders that were coming up useless. Many of them have already deserted
their natives. “It could take another decade for us to fully recover from the
obstruction in the grooming process that we are witnessing at present,” said a
politician. One of the essences of local governance is
to provide the nation with tried and tested leaders. Nobody better than Nepalese people
understand the importance of efficient leadership at present when their nation is groping
in the dark in the want for the same. Just like the Panchayat grass-root exercise provided
readymade leadership that could be used after the restoration of democracy; we need a lot
of tested leaders to sustain the democracy in this crucial period. More Devolution Is The Answer Even as the country is gripped in
instability and the local bodies remain without proper representatives, the DDC and VDC
Federations, activists, experts and even officials agree that more devolution is key to
solving various problems facing the country. The Local Self Governance Act of 1998
marked a watershed transformation in the concept of local democracy in Nepal. “But
due to various weaknesses and non-implementation, the Act has not been able to bring about
the desired changes,” said Sapkota. “We need sector-wise full devolution of
power accompanied by capacity building trainings and resources,” he added. They point out the existing contradictions
in different government acts. “While the LSGA allows the local body to raise certain
taxes, other acts of the government prevent it from doing so. There are many such
examples,” conceded Udaya Nepali Shrestha, former government secretary and the
current vice chairman of Law Reforms Commission. “It has been recognized all over the
world that without human rights, good governance and decentralization, democracy will not
be sustainable,” said Dr. Hikmat Bista, chief advisor at the DASU/DANIDA. “In
our country, we first need our leaders to fully comprehend the significance of
decentralization and implement it without any hitches.” From the side of the civil society, Rural
Development Foundation (RDF) – an NGO which has been active in the sector of
decentralization, among others – has even prepared a draft strategy for the sectoral
devolution of power from center to local level. It has also organized extensive
discussions with the government officials and political leaders to fine-tune the strategy,
which could herald a new chapter in the Nepal’s march towards full decentralization.
“Our aim is to present the authorities with a game plan to push the decentralization
process vigorously and effectively,” said Krishna Man Pradhan, president of the RDF. As per the sectoral devolution, sectors
like agriculture, health, education, rural infrastructures, forest, tourism etc have been
identified. “We have clearly demarcated the authority between the center and the
local bodies in different sectors in the proposed strategy,” said Dinesh Thapaliya, a
member of the team that formulated the proposed strategy who is also an under secretary at
the Local Development Ministry. Not only the people inside Nepal, even
donors and international partners have stressed on the importance of decentralization to
build a strong nation. Even during the 1950s, the United States Operation Mission (USOM)
undertook development efforts establishing village level agriculture and rural development
units to assist Nepal in this direction. Today's local bodies are the expanded faces of
those units. At present a number of bilateral donors and
INGOs are helping the country in this regard including the DASU/DANIDA, SNV, ESP/DFID,
SDC, GTZ, PDDP/UNDP and Australian Embassy. As there exists wide support for the
process of decentralization, the government needs to cash in the opportunities and set its
record straight starting with the restoration of elected officials and conducting
elections in proper time. Otherwise, the local bodies will not sink alone. They will drag
with them the whole edifice of democracy and nationhood. “Values And Norms Of Democracy Are
Being Systematically Destroyed” — Ghanashyam Khatiwada
Ghanashyam Khatiwada
is a former chairman of the Letang VDC of Morang district. Situated 52 km north-east of
Biratnagar, the VDC used to be a junction for people coming down from hilly districts like
Panchthar and Ilam to Terai. However, for the past couple of years, the village is
severely affected by the Maoists. Khatiwada, who is also a central member of the VDC
Federation, spoke to SANJAYA DHAKAL about his experiences. Excerpts: How do you evaluate the last two years
since the time the government failed to extend the tenure of the elected representatives? Gradually, we are witnessing the systemic
destruction of not only physical infrastructures but also the values and norms of
democracy. The development efforts that we had carried out during our tenure are being
undone. For instance, I had initiated system of keeping family information card in my
village where there is a population of 17,000. I had also undertaken studies to prepare a
village profile. But the Maoists have burnt all that along with the VDC building. Talking
about the whole country, in the past nine years of insurgency, 150 VDC level functionaries
including chairmen, vice chairmen and members have been killed due to conflict and 31 were
abducted. 2000 VDC buildings (out of the total 3913 VDCs) were destroyed either partially
or completely. But the government has appointed
secretaries to run the VDCs. Aren’t they working? The government-appointed VDC secretaries
never come to the village. The situation is grave. In fact, the secretaries, in most
cases, are persons from outside. Local people do not have faith in them. They also face
increase risk from the Maoists. In fact, among the 65 VDCs of Morang district, secretaries
of 54 of them work from the DDC office in Biratnagar. Likewise, in Sankhuwasabha district,
all the 33 VDC secretaries are concentrated at the district headquarters. Out of the total
3913 VDCs in the country, the government has not been able even to appoint secretaries in
1200 of them. You can imagine how the development and service-delivery has been affected.
Furthermore, the practices of local taxes, which we had initiated for the purpose of
fiscal sustainability, is being gradually terminated as the secretaries don’t give a
damn about it. In the past, the government had
also made political nominations to run the local bodies. How did you find it? Well, the nomination of political persons
was one step ahead than appointment of bureaucrats. Because most of the nominated persons
were local and had some political background. They were more dedicated towards service
delivery because they felt they needed to placate their future voters. However, it was not
an appropriate decision in face of the option of restoration of formerly elected
representatives that the government had before it. In a situation like now, how can
one believe that mere restoration of former heads improve the situation? Wouldn’t
they also face similar security problems? I believe that the elected representatives
have much more legitimacy and strength at the local level. It would not be easy for the
Maoists to touch elected representatives because a mass is behind them. Besides, as most
of the Maoists are also from among the same locality, it would be easier for elected
representatives to convince them about their intention. Having said that, I must add that
there is no alternative to holding election for the local bodies, which, in turn, does not
seem possible without reaching into some sort of understanding with the Maoists. Do you think there is need for more
devolution of power to the local bodies? Absolutely, the central government must
shake off its misplaced notion that the local bodies are unable to handle the authorities.
In fact, sectors like health, agriculture, education must be immediately and completely
handed over to the local bodies. Singh Durbar cannot and should not formulate development
plan for my village. That would be ridiculous. “Bureaucrats Running The Local
Bodies Have No Responsibility Towards People” — Jeebachha Shaha
Jeebachha Shaha is
the former chairman of Phulbariya VDC of Siraha district. Located along the East-west
highway near Lahan city, the VDC with the total population of 15,000 population is
relatively free of Maoist activities. Shaha spoke to SANJAYA DHAKAL about the issues
related to local bodies. Excerpt What sorts of development
activities had you carried out during your tenure? I had been able to construct 4.5 kilometer
of graveled road within my VDC. Electrification could be completed in six out of nine
wards. We were in the process of upgrading one lower secondary school to the secondary
level. However, of late the process of constructing classes for grade 9 and 10 remains
incomplete. There are now 4 primary and one secondary school in my VDC. These were apart
the regular service delivery works. How were they affected in the last
two years? It is anybody’s guess. Surely the
secretaries appointed by the government are not going to be as accountable and responsible
as elected persons. They are far away and removed from the local people – which is
totally against the spirit of local governance. The secretaries are primarily responsible
to the government and they do whatever they are ordered to do by the higher ranking
officials. They have nothing to do with the people and their problems. Do you think there were
irregularities during the absence of elected representatives in the local bodies? Yes, there were extensive irregularities.
Take for instance the system of getting approval from the Village or District Council
before carrying out development works. After the dissolution of the elected local bodies,
the council now has been confined to LDOs, secretaries and few technicians. In fact, three
persons – an LDO, a secretary and a technician an now effectively work as council for
the village and approve/reject any project. There is nobody to monitor how judiciously
they are working. If they collude, they can easily embezzle precious resources. What could be the way out? We should not sit with our hands folded
laying blame on the conflict alone. We should start working for that section of people who
are suffering the most. Till the elections could be held, restoration of formerly elected
representatives through invoking the legitimate provision of extending their tenure would
be the best option. Obviously, the elected representatives have a lot at stake and are
better placed to address people’s problems together with being fully accountable.
More devolution is also needed. But that has to be accompanied by capacity-building
package. “Only Elected Representatives
Can Guarantee Check And Balance” — Krishna Prasad Sapkota
Krishna Prasad
Sapkota is the president of the DDC Federation of Nepal. A former DDC chairman of the
Kavre district, Sapkota spoke about the present challenges facing the local bodies.
Excerpts: To what extent has the country
suffered following the absence of elected representatives at the local level? The whole process of planning has gotten
derailed. There used to be 14 stages earlier to get approval of a particular development
plan involving the meetings and approval from councils at village to district level. That
practice, which used to check and balance local bodies, has become defunct. The government
officials are never concerned about the planned development of the districts. The internal
sources of the DDCs have started gradually decreasing. The speed of development has come
screeching to a halt. How can you say that the government
officials or nominated representatives are not working? At present, even two officials are acting
as council and making any kind of decision they like. At some places, the nominated DDC
officials are reported to have pocketed up to Rs 4.5 lakhs in the name of medical
treatment and so on. So, what do you suggest? We suggest to adopt democratic means. At
present, the most democratic and appropriate decision would be to invoke the provision of
extending the tenure of local bodies by one year as stated in the Local Self Governance
Act. In fact, we have examples of elected local bodies getting extended by even up to 25
years in parts of India. The present government also has the
UML, which had been supporting the extension of tenure. But it has not made any decision
to that effect till now. What do you say? It is unfortunate. There is no logic in the
response from those who oppose the extension of the tenure. We hope the government would
soon take the appropriate decision. Do you believe there should be more
devolution? Are our local units capable to handle the added responsibilities? There is no alternative to more devolution.
In fact, I believe that any project that is constructed wholly within a VDC should be
handed over to the VDC; and projects involving two or more VDCs should be handed over to
DDC. Likewise, projects within a district should be handled by the DDC; while those
involving more than two districts be handled by the center. Unfortunately, instead of
devolution the government seems to interested in concentration of power. Of late, the
government has decided to remove the technical unit within DDCs to set up separate
District Technical Office, thereby, creating yet another unnecessary line agency. |
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