Focus on local polls
The Himalayan Times
14 March 2014
Focus on local polls
The representations of the local
people at the local bodies used to ensure proper functioning of
decentralization and democratic process. But for the last twelve years the local
bodies have been run without elected representatives. None of the governments
and big political parties showed interest in holding the local polls citing
different reasons but derailing the decentralized local democratic governance process
in Nepal
based on the Local Self-Governance Act-1999. It was pity to see the well
functioning local bodies gradually become defunct in the absence of local level
election.
Pranav Bhattarai’s article “Local
self-governance” (THT, 12 Mar, Page 6) rightly addresses the urgent need for
holding the local polls in order to encourage local partnerships, people’s
ownership and inclusive participation in planning, implementing and monitoring
of local development programs. If the democratic process had continued, there
could have been tremendous progress on further strengthening the democratic and
decentralization process at the grass root level and implementing several local
level development activities ensuring better living conditions for the local
population. Once this process was derailed, the allocated development budgets, which
were substantially increased in the recent years, have been massively misappropriated
in the absence of proper controlling mechanism thus depriving local communities
of their rights to development.
It is encouraging to hear that
the NC led government is planning to hold local polls within six months.
Rai Biren Bangdel
Maharajgunj, Kathmandu
