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The government led by Prime Minister Balindra Shah has released a ‘Governance Reform Agenda’ which, although difficult and challenging to implement, stakeholders regard as not impossible to achieve.
The agenda encompasses numerous issues directly related to the public, making effective implementation crucial. Discussions are ongoing about the exclusion of topics such as foreign employment and addressing victims of conflict.
The agenda was passed in the first meeting of the new cabinet on Friday and made public on Saturday. It covers areas including administrative, political, social justice, and citizen services reforms.
What Does the Agenda Include?
The 100-point agenda commits to formally apologizing to Dalit and marginalized communities within 15 days and declaring reform-oriented programs.
It calls for preparing a national commitment integrating actionable issues from the manifestos of all political parties to establish joint government ownership, and forming a working group to draft a ‘Constitutional Amendment Discussion Paper’ to build national consensus on political and institutional reforms and necessary election system amendments.
A high-level inquiry committee is to be formed within one week to investigate the facts of the incident on Bhadra 24 (September 9), along with initiating legal, administrative, and prosecutorial processes to implement past commission reports.
The agenda also proposes administrative restructuring and efficiency measures, including reducing the number of ministries to 17 with corresponding regulation amendments, evaluating and either dissolving, merging, or restructuring overlapping boards, committees, projects, and institutional structures that impose unnecessary financial burden, and abolishing partisan trade unions within public administration.
Under public service delivery and grievance management, the agenda includes digitizing services such as citizenship, passports, and national identity cards, and making grievance redress mechanisms more effective.
Additional commitments include exempting students up to grade five from internal exams, providing free bus services for women, forming a fully empowered ‘Property Investigation Committee’ within 15 days, ensuring 10% free beds in hospitals, and developing a ‘Free Health Portal’ within 30 days.
How Do These Governance Reforms Appear?
Prakash Kumar Shrestha, former vice-chair of the National Planning Commission, noted that many topics in the agenda were also present in earlier plans but are now situated in a different context.
“Some elements may be new, or attempts may be made to approach them differently, but many of these were included in the 16th National Planning Commission’s Five-Year Plan. The High-Level Commission on Economic Reforms had also provided over 400 recommendations. They can also be found in reports from other commissions,” he said.
“These are not entirely new, but presented in a new context. The government has a clear mandate, and governance reform is highly emphasized. Effective implementation is the key issue.”
Sociologist Meena Paudel, commenting on foreign employment topics, praised the government’s inclusion of formal apologies to marginalized groups in the agenda.
“The government has acknowledged the atrocities we have endured. Additionally, topics such as anti-corruption, education, health, and social justice are also covered,” she stated.
Tanuja Pandey, a member of the Gen Z campaign, also expressed optimism about the agenda, given its focus on issues directly affecting the public.
Like Paudel, she highlighted the government’s decision to apologize to marginalized groups as an acknowledgement of errors.
How Feasible Is Implementation?
Prakash Kumar Shrestha believes there are financial and human resource challenges to implementation.
“Implementation is not easy. It requires financial strength and the capacity of human resources. We lack technical personnel and adequate manpower in relevant sectors,” he explained.
“Many plans are tied to information technology, but the government system has limited IT personnel. Outsourced service providers and their service facilities complicate procedures. Moreover, the government’s debt has reached 2.85 trillion NPR, adding financial pressure. While these are challenges, implementation is not impossible.”
Meena Paudel said that although the government’s agenda initially felt ‘populist,’ it now resonates more easily in the current social context.
“There may be disappointment if some changes do not occur, but it also provides some energy,” she said.
“However, I am not confident about the level of cooperation the government will receive from the bureaucracy, opposition parties, judiciary, and relevant institutions during implementation.
The government is addressing wounds accumulated over the past 30 years. This affects Nepali society as a whole, so the extent of resistance, challenges, opposition, and support will be significant,” she added.
Tanuja Pandey also acknowledged that while implementation appears difficult, it is not impossible.
“Implementation ultimately depends on political will. It’s about how government officials utilize Nepali human resources and expert skills,” Pandey commented.
“If opposition parties also take ownership and work with the government’s agenda, implementation becomes possible.”
What Has the Government Left Out?
Sociologist Meena Paudel stated that the government omitted critical subjects concerning victims of conflict and youth migrating for foreign employment.
“No provisions address victims of the conflict period, many of whom are women,” she noted.
“Young people who emerged as leaders through movements, and the exploitation and fraud they face in remittance and foreign employment sectors, are not explicitly raised.”
Although the agenda mentions generating internal employment, it does not fully cover issues like manpower companies’ regulation and migration-related matters, she added.
Gen Z activist Tanuja Pandey pointed out that while the government has pledged to implement the inquiry report on the September 8 and 9 incidents (Bhadra 23 and 24), it has yet to officially release the Karki Commission’s report.
“If the government does not publicize the Karki Commission’s report, how can we consider it official?” she questioned.
“If the government gives equal importance to the incidents on the 8th and 9th, the Gen Z demands could also be included.”
