Fulfillment of 1,100 VDC secys unlikely in near future

Bishnu Prasad Aryal
Kathmandu, November 19

The Ministry of Local Development is uncertain about when some 1,100 VDC secretaries lying vacant for about a year will be fulfilled. The MoLD accuses the Ministry of General Administration of not working seriously to fulfill the vacant posts.

About half of the posts have been lying vacant for about a year while rest of the posts for about six months. There are 3,915 VDCs and 58 municipalities across the country.

Talking to this daily, State Minister for MoLD Ganesh Bahadur Khadka said, "We are rigorously worried about this and working to fulfill the vacant posts." However, he was unable to fix the deadline for appointing them. "This may take longer time due to the legal process," he added.

Minister Khadka said they attempted many times to make the local bodies operate smoothly for carrying out development projects and implementing the budgets. "There is a big problem in the local bodies, where the elected representatives are empty for last eight years," he said.

"We proposed the cabinet, the MoGA and Public Service Commission many times to take immediate steps to solve the problem," Khadka said. "However, none of them took it seriously. It is the main responsibility of the MoGA to appoint and transfer the government staffs," he added. "But it has turned deaf ear to this problem."

Chandra Ghimire, spokesperson for the MoGA, said that it was a case of big number of employees, not a couple or one dozen. "The MoLD has proposed us different alternatives. Working Committee formed in the MoGA to look into it has prepared a report with alternatives such as transfer of the government staffs or mass appointment on contract," he said.

Ghimire said it was still being discussed in the minister level and would be tabled to the cabinet soon. However, he could not mention any specific date or period.

Bhuvani Prasad Ghimire, president of the VDC Secretaries Rights Centre, said that it was the government's helplessness and negligence towards such a serious problem. "Present political situation and the government apathy are major causes that have badly affected the process of the local development," he added.

The VDC secretaries are still facing dire situations of donation pressure and threats to life, said Ghimire. "The VDC secretaries cannot go to even in the Lalitpur villages," he worried. "Many are still compelled to work from district headquarters while others are holding activities of upto seven VDCs."

State Minister Khadka said that, on the one hand, the development activities including distribution of social security funds were hindered, on the other hand, the development budgets were misused in the absence of concerned authorities. "The ministry has taken it seriously but there is little hope to solve it immediately. The government should have held the local elections to resolve this impasse," he added.