One of the few moves made by the government in recent weeks was the promotion of six joint secretaries to secretaries last month. But there are many more important decisions the government needs to take immediately. Five months after elections, the cabinet still hasn’t nominated 26 remaining CA members. Six ministries are without ministers and eight secretary slots are vacant.
The delay in appointments of ambassadors has slowed the government’s overall speed and efficiency. Prime Minister Sushil Koirala this week recommended a new Chief Justice but there are still a lot of decisions he needs to spearhead through the constitutional committees and the cabinet. “The procedure involved in day- to- day governance and administration is a new turf for PM Koirala and he keeps losing track of several important things that we constantly remind him of,” says a close Koirala aide. “We have requested him to form an effective secretariat to guide him but he is yet to take a decision.”
Two months after taking office, Koirala still doesn’t have a team of advisers. In the absence of a strong secretariat, there is very little coordination between Koirala and other ministers. Besides Dinesh Bhattarai as foreign affairs adviser, Chiranjivi Nepal as economic advisor and Secretary Basanta Gautam there is no one else by his side. Key central members of the NC don’t want to advise the PM because they were not inducted into the cabinet.
Law Minister Narahari Acharya feels that the government is working efficiently. “It is not the PM’s job to get things done, he only directs the ministers and we have been working very hard lately,” he says.
Koirala has been criticised for being distracted by officiating in minor programs when he should be taking the initiative. He has been travelling across the country, visiting his constituency in Banke. Says the aide: “He hasn’t been able to move beyond meeting party cadres and doesn’t know when to speak and when not to.”