Action plan on civil service reform discussed

April 8, 2000
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Kathmandu, Apri. 8: A workshop on civil service reform, jointly sponsored by His Majesty’s Government (HMG) and the Asian Development Bank (ADB), was held here today.

The workshop was organised to discuss the findings and recommendations of a technical assistance project, funded by ADB, to formulate an action plan on civil service reform in Nepal. About 135 representatives of HMG, ADB, donor agencies, and civil society attended the workshop. Participants provided comments and views on the proposed programme for civil service reform as contained in the report.

The objective of the civil service reform programme is broadly to enhance policy development and service delivery by reforming the organisation and management of the civil service. Possible initiatives under the proposed programme will seek to (i) develop more effective leadership for change management at all levels of the civil service, (ii) enhance civil service efficiency, (iii) strengthen anti-corruption measures, (iv) develop a capable and motivated civil service, and (v) develop a performance-oriented and accountable civil service.

Proposed actions under the reform programme will include reorganisation of government ministries, strengthening of constitutional oversight bodies, legislative reform to improve the transparency and accountability of the civil service, reforms to provide additional incentives to civil servants, and introduction of standards for customer service in key service delivery ministries. It is proposed that the first phase of reform programme will be implemented over a five-year period to begin in 2000.

The overarching objective of ADB’s Country Operational Strategy for Nepal is to achieve a sustainable reduction in poverty. A major difficulty in achieving this objective has been the lack of efficiency, predictability, transparency, and accountability in key development and market institutions. Since capacity building for improved governance is a critical success factor for achieving the overarching goal of a sustainable reduciton in poverty, civil service reform has been identified as one the key areas for governance reform.

ADB approved the technical assistance in December 1998, with a value of $630,000, to assist the government to prepare a series of measures that would provide the groundwork for a broad civil service reform programme in Nepal. The government’s 1992 Administrative Reforms Commission report was the basis of the work conducted under the technical assistance. The experts under the technical assistance began work in June 1999, and initiatives under the technical assistance included conducting a civil service census, establishing a computerised personnel database, undertaking a functional review of ministries, and consideration of a range of alternatives for fiscal decentralisation. Based on these activities, a timebound action plan for civil service reform has been prepared.

A Civil Service Programme Loan, under which the action plan will be implemented, has been proposed for approval by ADB in 2000, with a value of $20 million, depending on HMG progress in taking a number of key preliminary actions prior to the loan. An ADB Mission that has been in Kathmandu from 28 March 2000 to discuss in detail the scope of the action plan and subsequent loan with HMG attended the workshop.