Fundamental Principles of Good Governance and Bases for Conduct of Administrative Functions under the Good Governance (Management and Operation) Act, 2064

1. Fundamental Principles of Good Governance (6 marks)

Good governance means the exercise of public power and management of public resources in a manner that is legitimate, accountable, transparent, participatory, equitable and result-oriented, so that the state serves the collective interest of citizens. Its fundamental principles are:

(a) Participation Citizens, directly or through legitimate intermediaries, must have a voice in decision-making. Participation should be informed, organised and free from coercion, ensuring ownership and legitimacy of decisions.

(b) Rule of Law Public power must be exercised within a clear legal framework applied impartially. This requires predictability, equality before the law, protection of rights and control of discretionary authority.

(c) Transparency Decisions and their implementation must follow open procedures, and information should be freely available, understandable and accessible to those affected. Transparency reduces corruption and builds trust.

(d) Responsiveness Public institutions must serve all stakeholders within a reasonable time and respond promptly to public needs, grievances and service demands.

(e) Consensus Orientation Good governance mediates differing interests to reach broad consensus on policies and programmes in the best interest of the community.

(f) Equity and Inclusiveness All members of society—especially the poor, women, Dalits, Janajatis, Madhesis, persons with disabilities and other marginalised groups—must have equal opportunity to participate and benefit.

(g) Effectiveness and Efficiency Institutions must produce results that meet societal needs while making optimum use of resources, and their processes must be sustainable.

(h) Accountability Decision-makers in government, the private sector and civil society must be accountable to the public and to institutional stakeholders. Accountability cannot be enforced without transparency and the rule of law.

(i) Rule of Law–based control of corruption and proper use of public resources Public resources must be used honestly, economically and efficiently, with effective oversight and zero tolerance for corruption.

These principles together make the state service-oriented, citizen-centred, transparent and accountable.

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2. Bases for the Conduct of Administrative Functions under the Good Governance (Management and Operation) Act, 2064 (4 marks)

The Good Governance (Management and Operation) Act, 2064 (2007) was enacted to make public administration responsive, accountable, transparent, participatory and service-oriented. The bases for the conduct of administrative functions under the Act are:

(a) Supremacy of the Constitution and the rule of law Administrative functions must be conducted in accordance with the Constitution and prevailing laws. No administrative act can override the Constitution or the law.

(b) Protection of public interest Every administrative function must be performed in the public interest, keeping the welfare of the people at the centre, rather than for personal or partisan benefit.

(c) Transparency and openness Administrative bodies must conduct their functions openly. Citizens have the right to obtain information on administrative decisions and activities, subject to legal limitations.

(d) Accountability and responsibility Public officials are accountable for their acts and omissions. The Act provides for departmental action, compensation for losses caused by negligence, and a clear chain of responsibility from the minister down to the employee.

(e) Participation of citizens and stakeholders Citizens, service recipients and stakeholders must be involved in administrative decision-making, particularly in local service delivery, planning and monitoring.

(f) Prompt service delivery Administrative functions must be performed within prescribed time limits. Each public body must publish a citizen charter (नागरिक बडापत्र) specifying services, time frames, fees and the responsible official.

(g) Impartiality and non-discrimination Administrative functions must be conducted without discrimination on grounds of religion, caste, ethnicity, sex, language or political belief.

(h) Efficiency and economy Administrative functions must be conducted with optimum use of resources, avoiding waste, duplication and unnecessary delay.

(i) Decentralisation and devolution Powers and responsibilities must be exercised at the level closest to the people, promoting local autonomy and effective service delivery.

(j) Grievance redressal The Act establishes mechanisms such as the grievance-handling officer in each body and the right to information framework to ensure that citizens' complaints are heard and resolved.

Conclusion The Good Governance (Management and Operation) Act, 2064 operationalises the fundamental principles of good governance by making them legally binding on administrative bodies. It transforms abstract principles into enforceable duties, thereby promoting a citizen-centric, accountable and transparent public administration in Nepal.

Shortcomings felt in the implementation of periodic plans in Nepal

1. Unrealistic and over-ambitious targets. Plans have been formulated with targets far beyond the country's resource base, administrative capacity and absorptive capacity. The result is that even well-intentioned programmes remain only on paper.

2. Weak project preparation and selection. Projects are included in the plan without feasibility studies, cost estimates, design and clear implementation modality. Politically motivated and unprioritised projects crowd out productive investment.

3. Inadequate financial resources and poor mobilisation. Internal revenue is insufficient to fund planned investment; heavy dependence on foreign loans and grants makes implementation uncertain. Capital expenditure is chronically low — a large part of the development budget is returned unspent each year.

4. Weak institutional and administrative capacity. Line ministries and local bodies lack qualified technical manpower, project management skills and monitoring systems. Frequent transfer of officials, duplication of roles among agencies and unclear accountability weaken delivery.

5. Political instability and lack of continuity. Frequent changes in government, shifting priorities of the ruling party and absence of broad political consensus mean that plans are neither owned nor carried through. Plans are changed with every change of government.

6. Weak monitoring, evaluation and follow-up. The monitoring and evaluation system is formalistic; data are unreliable and reporting is irregular. There is no effective mechanism to correct deviations during implementation or to hold implementing agencies accountable for results.

7. Poor coordination among tiers of government and agencies. After federalisation, unclear division of roles among federal, provincial and local governments, and weak inter-agency coordination, have created duplication, gaps and delays in programme execution.

8. Corruption, leakage and weak procurement. Rent-seeking, collusion in tendering, poor contract management and delay in payment to contractors raise project costs and stretch completion periods.

9. Neglect of the private, cooperative and non-government sectors. The plans have relied excessively on the public sector and have not created a genuinely enabling environment for private investment, so the expected contribution of the private sector has not materialised.

10. Weak linkage between plan, budget and programme. The budget is not prepared strictly on the basis of plan priorities; the Medium-Term Expenditure Framework is not respected, so resources are spread thinly over too many activities.

Recommendations to address these shortcomings

1. Realistic and evidence-based planning. Fix targets on the basis of actual resource availability, past performance and absorptive capacity; use reliable data and proper costing.

2. Strengthen project preparation. Make feasibility study, design, cost estimate and environmental assessment compulsory before a project enters the plan; maintain a project bank and select projects on the basis of priority and readiness.

3. Improve resource mobilisation and expenditure management. Widen the tax base, reduce dependence on foreign aid, enforce the Medium-Term Expenditure Framework, and link release of funds to physical progress so that capital spending improves.

4. Build institutional capacity. Recruit and retain technical manpower, provide regular training, ensure stability of tenure for project chiefs and clearly assign accountability to a single agency for each programme.

5. Ensure political consensus and continuity. Formulate a long-term vision with the consent of major political parties so that plans survive changes of government; keep the periodic plan consistent with the SDGs and the constitution.

6. Strengthen monitoring, evaluation and accountability. Build a real-time, IT-based monitoring system, publish progress reports, conduct independent evaluation and link promotion and rewards to performance.

7. Improve federal coordination. Make the roles of the three tiers of government clear under the constitution, use the National Planning Commission and inter-governmental forums for coordination, and build the planning capacity of provincial and local governments.

8. Control corruption and strengthen procurement. Enforce transparency in tendering, use e-procurement, strengthen the Commission for the Investigation of Abuse of Authority and the Office of the Auditor General, and ensure timely payment to contractors.

9. Create an enabling environment for the private sector. Simplify laws, ensure policy stability, improve infrastructure and access to credit so that private and cooperative investment contributes as envisaged in the plan.

10. Institutionalise learning. Treat each plan as a learning exercise — evaluate the previous plan honestly, incorporate the lessons in the next plan and make the National Planning Commission a genuinely capable think tank rather than only a formality.