US embassy cable - 02KATHMANDU2393

C O N F I D E N T I A L KATHMANDU 002393 
 
SIPDIS 
 
STATE FOR SA/INS 
LONDON FOR POL/REIDEL 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 12/16/2007 
TAGS: PGOV, NP, Nepali Government Policy, Government of Nepal (GON) 
SUBJECT: NEPAL: GOVERNMENT PLAN TO APPOINT LOCAL 
ADMINISTRATORS: LIKELY TO SPARK POLITICAL PROTEST 
 
 
Classified By: Ambassador Michael E. Malinowski for Reason 1.5(d) 
 
Summary 
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1. (C) In a December 16 meeting with the Ambassador, Nepal's 
Information and Communication Minister revealed that the 
government plan to soon begin appointing government officers 
to local positions.  The government's decision to take this 
step, which will be announced via ordinance by the King in 
days, was not done in consultation with Nepal's political 
parties.  The Embassy anticipates backlash as a result.  End 
Summary. 
 
Policy by Trial Balloon 
----------------------- 
 
2. (C) On December 16, the Ambassador met with Information 
and Communication Minister Ramesh Nath Pandey.  During the 
meeting Pandey revealed that the government will soon begin 
appointing professional government bureaucrats (at the 
secretary level) to head Village Development Committees 
 
SIPDIS 
(VDC).  The VDC is the smallest unit of government authority 
and is most directly tied to the communities it serves.  In 
July, the previous government allowed the terms of all local 
bodies to expire, leaving local levels of government without 
elected representation.  The Government of Nepal has since 
appointed civil servants to carry out the functions of the 
local bodies.  Maoist insurgents have destroyed 39 percent of 
the total of 3912 VDC buildings in the country.  As an 
extreme example, the Gulmi District has lost 92 percent of 
its 79 VDC offices.  Because of Maoist terror, many of the 
civil servants appointed to fill VDC posts have fled the VDCs 
and relocated to district headquarters. 
 
3. (C) The Ambassador encouraged the Minister to seek out the 
opinions of the political parties and ensure that they are 
not taken by surprise.  Minister Pandey stated that, as the 
newly designated spokesperson for His Majesty's Government, 
he had made press statements in the last several days that 
hinted at the proposal.  Upon hearing no public protests to 
these trial balloons, the Minister stated that the government 
felt confident in adopting the proposal without communicating 
directly with the political parties. 
 
4. (C) The Minister expects the King to promulgate the new 
ordinance in the next few days.  It will be valid for six 
months and can then be renewed.  The appointed secretaries 
will provide much needed services, including issuing birth 
and death certificates and overseeing implementation of 
projects in their village.  To be appointed, secretaries must 
be residents of their village and must have graduated from 
the tenth grade.  Minister Pandey stated that members of the 
four political parties will be considered for appointment but 
that there should be no expectation that the new appointees 
will reflect the political make-up of the last election. 
Ambassador Malinowski pressed Minister Pandey to consult with 
the political parties. 
 
Comment 
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5. (C) The appointment of VDC secretaries--in the absence of 
locally elected officials--for some Nepali could harken back 
to the 1960-1990 "partyless" Panchayat era, when the King 
appointed all levels of government.  Nepalese political 
parties will likely criticize the palace move as evidence of 
encroachment upon their local government prerogatives in 
Nepal.  Although Pandey argued that the positions 
traditionally have been filled by low level officials, the 
government should use this opportunity to fill a recognized 
bureacratic vacuum as a way to develop better--and much 
needed--working relationships with the parties. End Comment. 
MALINOWSKI