Although the local government should make public the decisions made in the executive and the work done at the local level, most of them have not made public the decisions made in the executive. Some did not make the decision public but posted it on their website a few days later. Now that custom has also been removed.
Citizens should be informed about the activities to be done at the local level. Citizens have been deprived of the information they need despite the provision of making public the policies and decisions made at the local level. There is a provision to appoint a spokesperson to convey the policy decisions made by the local level in the executive to the citizens. Although the work of the spokesperson is to inform the general locals about the work done by the local government, no local level has been able to clarify the role of the spokesperson till the end of the term.
Tikapur Municipality has appointed Dirgha Bahadur Thakulla, Ward Chairman of Ward No. 8 as the spokesperson of the municipality. Article 17 of the Municipal Executive Performance Guideline 2074 states that a spokesperson and information officer will be appointed. Accordingly, he has been appointed as the spokesperson of the municipality. He said that the leadership of the municipality had selected him as the spokesperson only to complete the process. He complained that the role of the spokesperson could not be fulfilled as the leadership of the people's representatives and the leadership of the municipal employees were not interested in the role of the spokesperson within the municipality.
"I have repeatedly set up a working room in the municipality and tried hard to make the decisions made by the executive meeting public, but they have not been successful. Because of the lack of support from the people's representatives and staff, I became not only a spokesperson but also a nominee, ”he said.
The municipality has not appointed a spokesperson even after the end of its five-year tenure. It has been found that the municipality has not yet made public the decision of any executive. Municipal Deputy Chief Chhaya Devkota said that the municipality has not appointed a spokesperson and the decision of the executive has not been made public. "We have not selected a spokesperson. I do not think it is necessary to make public the decisions of such an executive," he said.
Even the Janaki municipality could not appoint a spokesperson. Stating that the village municipality office administration would make public the decisions made by the village executive committee meeting, village chairman Pradip Kumar Chaudhary said that the spokesperson was not appointed as he did not feel the need. "We have not appointed a spokesperson as we do not feel the need for a spokesperson. The work of the spokesperson has been done by the administration branch of the office," he said. But while the work was going on, not only the post was given, but it was also implemented. We have not appointed a spokesperson as we have not seen that situation. ”
Most of the local levels have not appointed a spokesperson and the role of the spokesperson at the designated local level is zero. The spokespersons have not been able to carry out the work for the purpose for which the spokesperson has been appointed and the people's representatives have not been able to feel the need for it at some local levels.
The legal officers of the local level judicial committee say that the local government is a strong government in itself and it is necessary to give responsibility to the official person to take the activities in the municipality to the citizens. Keshar Bahadur Thapa, legal officer of Tikapur Municipality, said that it would be better for the local government to give responsibility to one person to inform about its activities. Law Officer Thapa said that it would not be possible to ask all the members of the executive and the chief would not be able to inform everything.
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