As the local federal units have got an immense authority of governance in villages, cities and towns, unlike in the past when they merely worked as the Centre’s service delivery units, the government has decided to provide an intensive orientation within a month to the chiefs and deputy chiefs on their powers and responsibilities.

The Ministry of Local Development and Federal Affairs, as the liaison ministry, will hold the orientation in the first week of June in Kathmandu for Province 3, in Pokhara for Province 4 and Jumla for Province 5. The ministry has selected 60 experts including retired secretaries, practitioners of education, health, governance, and information and communication technology for the purpose.

According to Dinesh Thapaliya, secretary at the ministry, the people’s representatives would be educated on matters related to governance, decentralisation and resource mobilisation. The secretary or the executive head of the respective Village Council and municipality will also be informed about their responsibilities and authority.

“The Constitution of Nepal gives huge authority to the local representatives. Through the orientation, they will be acquainted with different facets of local governance,” Thapaliya told the Post.

A total of 566 chiefs and deputy chiefs and 283 executive heads of municipalities and metropolises or secretaries of the Village Councils will take part in the training in the first phase. The three-day orientation will also cover issues including development planning, the process of budget formulation and endorsement, good governance and the code of conduct for elected representatives.

“Secretaries from all the ministries will also brief on the authority vested in the local government,” Thapaliya said. A day of extra session on reconstruction will be held for representatives from the 14 districts worst affected by the earthquakes in 2015. The move is aimed at expediting the delayed rebuilding process. The government has prepared 100 indicators for the orientation that will also address matters related to ICT, and child-, disabled- and environment-friendly governance.

The constitution lists 22 explicit authorities for the local bodies. These, enlisted in Schedule 8, range from formulation of laws and education to collection of taxes. The local bodies have the authority to issue land ownership certificates, develop curriculum and conduct exams up to the secondary level, and manage healthcare facilities. They are also empowered to manage and use local natural resources including mines. 

Earlier, the local bodies had the right to issue around 60 different recommendations, collect land taxes and distribute old age and social security allowances.

Thapaliya said the ward level representatives will be given a separate five-day training in the respective districts in the second phase. Similar programmes will be organised for the representatives to be elected from the second phase of polls scheduled for June 14.