MEMBER´S MEET On the 26th and 27th March 2015, TI Nepal held a two day interaction in Dhulikhel bringing together 25 of its members in one platform to reflect on its Strategic Plan, implementation aspects and future interventions. Founder of TI Nepal Dr. Devendra Raj Panday and the former Chief Commissioner of CIAA and member Surya Nath Upadhaya made key note speeches on the prevailing context. Board members sought suggestions on reviewing the focus areas of the strategic plan. Members provided valuable suggestions on issues that needs immediate attention of TI Nepal in the current political and social context.
CAPSULE MONTHLY NEWS BULLETIN JANUARY – MARCH 2015
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NATIONAL NEWS:
BRITISH GOVERNMENT TO RESTRICT DEVELOPMENT AID TO NEPAL The UK House panel has suggested that British government should reduce aid to Nepal, due to the failure of the government of Nepal to take effective action to fight endemic corruption. The suggestion from the parliamentary committee came after its Independent Commission for Aid Impact (ICAI), responsible for scrutinizing foreign aid of the United Kingdom, showed concerns over corruption in the projects supported by Local Governance and Community Development Programme in November last year. International Development Committee (IDC), which monitors the performance of the DFID, has set certain conditions on continuing aid to Nepal which requires the country to become less corrupt and show improvements in governance.
REUTERS/NAVESH CHITRAKAR
SOLIDARITY WITH DR. GOVINDA K.C TI Nepal wrote to the Prime Minister on 27th March 2015, expressing solidarity and support on the hunger strike lunched by Prof Dr Govinda KC at TU Teaching Hospital. Dr. K.C went on a hunger strike for the fifth time, protesting against the widespread irregularities and corruption in the medical education sector, mainly in granting license to new medical colleges. TI Nepal in the letter urged the government to immediately address the demands raised by Dr. K.C. and also ensure that Dr. K.C’s health does not worsen more. Postscript April 02, 2015: Dr. Govind KC broke his hunger strike by taking fruit juice offered by a 10-year-old patient and a cobbler who has been working at the Tribhuvan University Teaching Hospital (TUTH) gate after an agreement with the government. Among the demands accepted by the government are, not to grant affiliation to any new medical colleges until a new medical education policy was formulated, to implement the recommendations of the committee working on medical education policy, and authorising the committee to rescind affiliation of those medical colleges that do not meet criteria. The government also agreed to form an investigation commission under a former judge of an Appellate Court (higher court) within a week to look into the decisions of TU, Kathmandu University and Nepal Medical Council officials to issue Letter of Intent to new medical colleges. Additionally, the report of a committee that had investigated irregularities in the medical sector would be sent to anti-corruption body, Commission for the Investigation of Abuse of Authority (CIAA), for implementation.
TI BANGLADESH VISIT TI Nepal President Bharat Bahadur Thapa, Executive Director Ashish Thapa, Finance Officer Babita Sharma and Program Officer Nisha Aryal visited TI-Bangladesh from 12th to 16th of January 2015. On 13th January 2015, TIN representatives visited TI Bangladesh to learn about its most effective activities and interventions. They also called upon the chief commissioner of Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) Bangladesh, Honorary M. Badiuzzaman and discussed about the overall status of corruption in the country. Md. Badiuzzaman informed that ACC Bangladesh was reviewing the Good Governance Act of Nepal to explore the possibility of its replication in Bangladesh. On the 14th and 15th January, the visiting members participated in the South South Exchange program review organized jointly with Fredskorpset Norway .
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TREASURER VISITS INDIA TI Nepal’s Treasurer Padmini Pradhananga participated in the “International Conference on Transnational Corruption” organized by TI India in partnership with the Centre for Transparency and Accountability in Governance at National Law University, Delhi, on the 24th and 25th March 2015. Ms. Pradhananga was amongst the selected panelists at the conference that consisted of seven technical sessions and 34 paper presentations.
TI-NEPAL’S ACCREDITATION All fully accredited national chapters of Transparency International go through a review process once in every three years. To ensure continuous compliance with Transparency International values and standards, TI-Nepal’s efforts of the last three years (2011-2014) is currently being evaluated in the process of renewing its accreditation as a National Chapter of TI.
ETHICAL CULTURE IN BUSINESS On 17th March 2015, TI Nepal in partnership with Ncell, the largest private sector telecom operating in Nepal, hosted a regional conference in Nepalgunj, targeting the Far and Mid-Western Development Region of Nepal. The conference highlighted the importance of private sector in promoting ethical culture while conducting business activities. Representatives from district based Chamber of Commerce and Industries (CCI) actively deliberated problems and solutions in the presence of local stakeholders in on more ethical ways.
INTERACTING WITH WOMEN AND YOUTH Realizing that women and youth are indispensible part of the anti- corruption movement, TI Nepal in coordination with the Professional Women Support Group (PWSG) and National Youth Federation Nepal (NYFN) organized two workshops targeting women and youth from different walks of life. The workshop informed these targeted groups about ALAC and the importance of speaking out against corruption mainly by lodging a complaint at TI Nepal.
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MOBILE ALACS (GRIEVANCE CENTER) To directly reach out to the victims and witnesses of corruption in the districts where TI Nepal carries out its interventions in partnership with its local Affiliated Organizations, a number of mobile ALACs were organized in the premises of prominent public service delivery institutions. In January and February 2015, mobile ALACs were conducted by TI Nepal representatives in Baglung, Ilam, Rautahat, Bhaktapur, Dang and Siraha. More than 200 grievances relating to malpractice in public service delivery were collected and bought to the attention of the concerned public authorities of the district, for redressal.
MIDTERM REVIEW OF ALAC DP On February 27th 2015, a program was organized in TI Nepal where the findings of an independent mid- term review of ALAC DP program was presented. Members of the Project Advisory Committee of ALACDP, representative from the European Union (donor), consultant Management Association Nepal (MAN) and TIN project staff actively participated in the event. Findings highlighted that activities being implemented are as per the plan and have positive contributions on facilitating public grievances and promoting integrity at government offices.
COMMITMENTS OF DEVELOPMENT PACT (DP)
TI Nepal in coordination with its district based partner NGO, hosted a review program in 7 districts. The reviews tracked achievements and progress made by the government authorities who had signed the Development Pact pledges to upgrade the qualities of services rendered by concerned offices. TI Nepal’s team carried out the review in 7 districts: Chitwan, Surkhet, Dhading, Gulmi Rupandehi, Illam and Kaski. The reviews consisted of presentations made by the pledgee in public events, about changes initiated after the pledges.
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REGIONAL CONFERENCE IN RAUTAHAT TI Nepal in coordination with the district based affiliated organization, Creative Group of Nepal, hosted a three day program (29 December to 31st December 2014) in Gaur, Rautahat. On 29th December 2014, a Central Regional Conference was organized with more than 70 local stakeholders representing government offices, civil society, political parties, media, women groups etc, actively participated. Discussion on the National Integrity System (NIS) of Nepal, district and regional problems, and corruption in Nepal in comparison to other South Asian countries, were the main highlights of the discussions. Stakeholders emphasized on the necessity of hosting such events to promote good governance at the district level. The event was also broadcasted live by a local FM radio station.
Orientation to new Program Officers
A two day orientation on the Building National Integrity Nepal (BNIN) was organized on December 30-31 2014, during the central regional conference in Rautahat to train the program officers and representatives of 9 affiliated organizations (AOs) involved with the Building National Integrity Nepal program, on administration and financial issues. Other aspects of the orientation included RTI, grievance collection and a mobile ALAC conducted in the premise of District Administration Office and District Development Committee in Gaur, Rautahat.
Inauguration at district level
The nine newly inducted TI Nepal’s Affiliated Organizations (AOs) working under the BNIN program have started their activities in their respective districts. To inform stakeholders about the program and to bolster the image of the AOs, interactions were organized in seven program districts. Government officials, representatives of political parties, civil society organizations, social activists and media actively participated and provided recommendations on the ways to improve effectiveness of the program. They also made commitments to provide support to ensure the successful implementation of program activities at the district level.
INDIVIDUAL DONATION Mr. Matt (as listed by the donor) from New Zealand, made a donation of NZD 1000 (Rs.78,000 approximately) to Transparency International Nepal in February 2015. In his email to TI Nepal, Matt said that during his visit in 2012, he was deeply touched by the hospitality of the locals and the scenic beauty of the country and wanted to give something in return and chose TI Nepal to do so. Matt said “I chose TIN because I wanted to contribute to an organization that was trying to make a positive impact and was empowering the marginalized communities of the country.” The donation process was facilitated by Ms. Amy Chisholm.
MEETING ROYAL NORWEGIAN EMBASSY (RNE) OFFICIALS On 13 February 2015, the Royal Norwegian Embassy officials met with TI Nepal officials to meet the newly elected portfolio holders to discuss on the progress made in the Building National Integrity in Nepal (BNIN) program, funded by RNE. In the meeting, both the parties agreed to be involved in the ongoing self-assessment work related to UNCAC and the upcoming peer review.
MEETING NEPAL BUSINESS INITIATIVE On 1st February 2015, representatives of Nepal Business Initiatives, GIZ and Accountability Lab met with TI Nepal to explore the possibilities of a partnership to fight private sector corruption. Another round of meeting is expected to be facilitate sharing of integrity experience of private sector including Ncell.
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INTERNSHIPS TI-Nepal, welcomed Mr. Fernando Jonatan Suarez-Palomino from Germany as a new intern for 3 months from March 2015. Mr. Palomino holds a BA degree in Political Science and Ethnology from the Eberhard Karls University, T端bingen. During his internship he will work on developing concept notes and proposals to further TI Nepal endeavors.
Hutta Raj Adhikari from Kathmandu, Nepal joined TI Nepal as an intern in February 2015. Adhikari is currently pursuing his Bachelors of Business Studies at Shankar Dev Campus, Kathmandu. He is working with the ALACDP team and assisting on the management of database on public grievances.
Helen Mannan from Dhaka, Bangladesh joined TI Nepal in February as a volunteer. Ms. Mannan has completed her M.Phil in Anthropology from Dhaka University. She is currently engaged with the ALAC outreach and in developing strategies to increase the involvement of women in the anticorruption movement.
TI Nepal welcomes the dawn of the Nepalese New year 2072 B.S May this new year bring joy,peace and happiness TRANSPARENCY INTERNATIONAL NEPAL
P.O. Box 11486, Chakubaku Marg, New Baneshwor, Kathmandu, Nepal Tel: +977 1 4475062, 4475112, 4475262 Fax: + 977 1 4475112 Email: trans@tinepal.org Web: www.tinepal.org PAGE 06