Valley
Oli deflects blame for the ‘sluggish’ performance
Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli has blamed the lack of preparations by his predecessors in drafting the laws and laying the ground for three tiers of government for the “seemingly” sluggish progress of his government in the last six months.Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli has blamed the lack of preparations by his predecessors in drafting the laws and laying the ground for three tiers of government for the “seemingly” sluggish progress of his government in the last six months.
Amid criticisms from different quarters of the government commanding a two-thirds majority in Parliament failing to make significant strides, PM Oli said his team spent much time drafting laws, managing civil servants and restructuring the ministries.
Oli blamed the mess left by the earlier government for the failure of his administration to meet public aspirations since he took office on February 15.
Addressing the House of Representatives on Tuesday, the PM said his government was more focused on formulating the laws, smoothening the functioning of the three tiers of government and mobilising staff and resources at the provincial and local levels to meet the constitutional needs.
He informed the House that drafts of 50 laws including 17 related to fundamental rights were approved by his Cabinet and sent to the federal parliament for endorsement. The constitution has set the September 19 deadline to
pass laws necessary for implementing the provisions outlined in it.
Approval of the organisational and management survey and decision to allocate civil servants to the three levels was another highlight of Oli’s address.
The government has decided to deploy 36,444 staffers to the central service while 21,399 and 51,452 will be working at the provincial and local levels, respectively.
“Had the previous governments drafted necessary laws, our work would have been easier,” Oli remarked, accusing the opposition Nepali Congress of obstructing the House by raising “non issues” which further delayed endorsement of the necessary legislation.
On federalism, he said the newly adopted model of governance was taking root as the government divides the responsibilities and authorities in different tiers.
PM Oli also came down heavily on the opposition over its criticism of several provisions of the civil and criminal codes. The codes were endorsed in August last year, when the Sher Bahadur Deuba government set August 17 this year as the date for the laws to come into force.
“I don’t understand how the incumbent government may be blamed for the provisions in the codes,” he said, promising discussion however for revising the provisions that don’t fit the contemporary society.
Oli highlighted the pre-feasibility study of the Kathmandu-Rasuwagadhi railway and preparations of the survey for the Kathmandu-Birgunj railways among his major achievements. He argued that the developments indicated Nepal’s deepening relationships with its two giant neighbours.