Serve people, PM tells local leaders

Kathmandu, Mar. 24

Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli has said that the local representatives should be the engineers of social awareness, development and servant of people.

“People have sent the representatives to play the role in their favour in their own right. Therefore, let’s consider ourselves public servant, not officials,” he said while addressing the 28^th Anniversary programme of the Municipal Association of Nepal (MuAN) in the Capital on Wednesday.

According to PM Oli, he felt the importance and rationality of the local level when the representatives at the municipalities came out to serve the people risking their lives during the coronavirus pandemic.

The rights of the local bodies in the constitution were included after extensive discussions and they were not the issues of conflict, but coordination, he said.

PM Oli stated that the local governments would be in a position to fully use their rights with capacity building. “When empowered, the local bodies can prove their mettle in local development and welfare of the people. Whom should we empower, if not the local governments?” he maintained.

According to the PM, the federal and local governments are not the rivals and they will mature as they exercise their rights and duties. In the local levels, ward chair to deputy mayor all have their own grievances but you need not be worried, this is the way to learn, he said.

However, he said that the local levels should not try to act like the federal government and involve themselves in every affair. Even the provinces should have no illusion in this regard, he stated.

“It is not practical to send 70 per cent budget to the local levels. What would you do with this amount? All development works would be carried out by the local levels but we allocate the budget in ways so that it is well-spent,” he said.

PM Oli urged the female representatives to work harder to move ahead of their male counterparts.

On the occasion, the PM launched a book published by the MuAN and awarded the best-performing municipalities – Kankai, Tilottama and Waling.

Meanwhile, MuAN and Nepal Infrastructure Bank Limited (Nifra) signed a Memorandum of Understanding (Mou) on construction, investment and operation of infrastructure projects in Public-Private-Partnership and private sector participation.

Executive Director of MuAN Kalanidhi Devkota and Chief Executive Officer of Nifra Ram Krishna Khatiwada signed the MoU in the presence of PM Oli.

As per the agreement, Nifra will provide support in identifying social and infrastructure projects at the municipalities, analyzing their financial and technical aspects, marketing of projects and offer financial, technical and other necessary support to the local bodies.

Published in The Rising Nepal daily on 25 March 2021.