Kathmandu, June 26: The government led by Prime Minister Balendra Shah has issued about four dozen guidelines, procedures and circulars targeting various ministries, commissions, secretariats, provincial and local levels, with a focus on governance reforms, effectiveness of service delivery and promotion of good governance in the country.
Since the formation of the current government, the Office of the Prime Minister and Council of Ministers has issued 40 guidelines, procedures and circulars so far with the objective of making the administrative mechanism agile, transparent, accountable and people-oriented. Most of these directives, procedures and directive circulars are directly related to the effective implementation of the 100-point government reform agenda made public by the government.
The government’s directives, procedures and circulars are mainly focused on administrative reforms, service delivery, austerity, agriculture and trade promotion, natural resource management, corruption prevention, good governance, public accountability, education, health, foreign employment, health insurance reform and addressing citizen grievances. According to Prime Minister Shah’s press and research expert Deepa Dahal, these guidelines, procedures and circulars have been issued with the aim of ending administrative delays, emphasizing digital governance, eliminating unnecessary procedural hassles, maintaining austerity in government expenditure and providing quick and effective services to citizens.
To streamline the administrative process, arrangements have been made to limit the decision-making process to a maximum of three levels by implementing the ‘Business Process Reengineering’ (BPR) guidelines, while all government agencies have been instructed to strengthen the Government Integrated Office Management System (GIOMS) and work through the digital system.
In addition, emphasis has been placed on implementing reform programs such as the ‘Zero Backlog File’ campaign, complaint management, updating details and maintaining institutional memory with priority. Through the circular, strict arrangements have been implemented to purchase new materials other than essential ones, repair and use old materials and prevent misuse of vehicles to maintain economy in government expenditure.
Instructions were given to temporarily suspend foreign travel of civil servants in order to prevent impact on governance reform work. Instructions have also been issued to operate cold stores at full capacity to promote the agriculture and manufacturing sector, increase consumption of milk and dairy products, organize details of agricultural product imports, and make the distribution of chemical fertilizers and inventory status transparent.
A letter has been sent to all ministries with a decision to approve the decision on O&M guidelines by mid-Ashar for implementation. Guidelines on the preparation of the annual action plan for the fiscal year 2026/27 and guidelines on preparing the concept of the annual program have also been issued. Circulars, procedures and instructions have been issued on providing details of the financial management of Madrasas, removal of office bearers including vice-chancellors of various universities and bodies, conducting classes on television for all secondary level subjects, strengthening Nepal Drug Limited, stipend and working hours of MBBS and BDS intern doctors, management of Nepali workers going for foreign employment, reform of health insurance programs and management of non-governmental organizations (NGOs/INGOs) and Social Welfare Council.
Special instructions have been issued to control illegal mining, collection and transportation of river-extracted and mineral products for the protection of natural resources, while priority has been given to maintaining office cleanliness and environmental hygiene through the operation of the National Cleanliness Week. All ministries, commissions, secretariats and offices have been directed to effectively control corruption-related activities. Instructions have also been given to regularly update the details of office heads, spokespersons and information officers to increase the accountability of government bodies towards citizens and to mandatorily pick up the phone during office hours and address complaints.
Under Secretary and Assistant Spokesperson of the Office of the Prime Minister and Council of Ministers, Sirjana Sharma, said that the PMO has been providing necessary coordination and facilitation between the ministries, commissions, secretariats, provinces and local levels as the ‘apex body’ for coordination, monitoring and evaluation of the government.
According to her, the PMO has been issuing these documents to the concerned bodies from time to time to effectively implement the agenda put forward by the government, maintain coordination between ministries and accelerate overall governance reforms. She stated that most of the directives, procedures and circulars issued in the last three months are related to the implementation of the government’s agenda related to governance reforms and informed that progress reports are regularly requested from the concerned ministries and bodies for the implementation of those directives, monitoring is also done and necessary facilitation is also done.
