SEPT-OCT 2014

TRANSPARENCYINTERNATIONALNEPALcoalition against corruption

www.tinepal.org tinepal

CAPSULEMONTHLY NEWS BULLETIN

19TH ANNUAL GENERAL MEETINGThe 19th Annual General Meeting (AGM) of TI Nepal was held on 26th September 2014. The meeting was concluded by electing member Mr. Bharat Bahadur Thapa as the new President. Mr. Thapa completed his tenure as the Secretary General of TI Nepal at the 19th AGM. He is currently the President of the Council of Former Public Servants of Nepal and has been the Secretary of various government ministries, including the Commission for the Investigation of Abuse of Authority.

The AGM also elected eight Executive Committee (Board) members. They are: Anand Raj Mulmi (entrepreneur), Ram Krishna Manandhar (poet), Mukunda Pradhan (management expert), Geeta Keshari (literati), Padmini Pradhananga (social-worker), Leela Sapkota (advocate), Dr.Chintamani Yogi (spiritual guru) and the National Business Initiative. The AGM was attended by 43 of the 60 members, and approved TI Nepal’s 2013/14 progress and financial reports. On September 26, the newly elected Executive Committee had their first meeting. In the meeting, TIN President Bharat Bahadur Thapa nominated Geeta Kesari as the Vice President and Mukunda Bahadur Pradhan as the Secretary General.

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FAILURE TO CONDUCT LOCAL LEVEL ELECTIONS IS THE MAJOR CAUSE OF CORRUPTION IN NEPALThe Right Honourable Prime Minister Sushil Koirala, while addressing the legislative parliament, said that the failure to conduct local level elections is the major cause of corruption in Nepal. He further stated that under these circumstances the billions of rupees allocated for the development programs could not be effectively used. Therefore the government is currently in the process of discussing holding local elections immediately.

TIN organized a discussion program on its establishment day, August 19, bringing together members and secretariat staff to discuss future programs and to identify potential areas of intervention. The following ideas were put forward in the discussion i) TIN should focus on identifying corruption related issues in the Judiciary, Constitutional Assembly, Parliament and other constitutional bodies and monitor their activities regularly, ii) coordinate with the government to develop anti-corruption curriculum and introduce it at the school level iii) continue current programs like ALAC, NICSA and SS Exchange program, iv) focus on institutional capacity development and v) implement an effective media campaign to promote good governance related activity.

“I will try to work with all stakeholders involved in the governance agenda to make a sincere effort so that jointly we are able to make the ordinary people feel the presence of good governance.” - TIN President Bharat Bahadur Thapa

19TH ESTABLISHMENT DAY

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In July 2014, TIN signed an agreement with the Royal Norwegian Embassy, Kathmandu to carry out three and half year program titled 'Building National Integrity in Nepal (BNIN)'. The program integrates a variety of interrelated activities to promote transparency and accountability and counter corruption in various areas of public life. TIN has received approval from the Social Welfare Council, appointed project staff, purchased office supplies, equipment and a vehicle and carried out other related activities to build a foundation for the program. In addition, to carry out the programs operation at the district level, TIN sought affiliation with four additional organizations based at district level.

During October 2014, TIN signed three new agreements to implement short- term programs, two with the TI Secretariat and one with Ncell Pvt.Ltd. The agreements with the Secretariat continued two TI programs, ALAC and NICSA, for another 10 months, while the other initiated a private sector partnership with Ncell to promote ethical culture in private sector. The ALAC program focuses on engaging youth whereas NICSA aims to advocate reforms. The Ncell supported program concentrates on policy meetings, regional conclaves, training and integrity pledge.

District Visits:In order to expand the anti-corruption movement, and to explore possibilities for collaboration and partnership in the BNIN program at the district level, TIN team visited Dang, Rautahat, Bhaktapur and Baglung districts and interacted with several stakeholders during August/September 2014. After the visit, the TIN team recommended the following district based NGOs to be its affiliated organizations:• Social Solidarity for Development, Tulsipurmunicipality-6, Dang• Creative Group of Nepal, Bhalohiya-6, Rautahat• Agya Social Concern Nepal, Katunje VDC- 8, Surya Binayak, Bhaktapur

On 8-10 September 2014, a TIN team visited affiliated organization Civil Society for Good Governance Pokhara to discuss strategies to effectively monitor Pokhara Municipality Development Pact. During the same visit, a mobile ALAC was also organized in Kaski district. Sixteen grievances related to passports, marriage registration and other issues linked to the District Administration Office were collected during the session. The program was well received by the CDO of the Kaski district, Mr. Krishna Bahadur Thapa, who received TIN grievances reported during the session.

Mr. Kamal Pokhrel, Deputy Executive Director, participated in a three day TI workshop, 'Speak-Up Asia', on 4 – 6 September 2014, at Phnom Penh in Cambodia. The program provided space for strategic discussions to build capacities of national chapter staff on case work, strategic advocacy and learning.

NEW PROGRAMS

CAMBODIA SPEAK-UP ASIA WORKSHOP

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UPCOMING

TRANSPARENCY INTERNATIONAL NEPALP.O. Box 11486, Chakubaku Marg, New Baneshwor, Kathmandu, NepalTel: +977 1 4475062, 4475112, 4475262 Fax: + 977 1 4475112Email: trans@tinepal.org Web: www.tinepal.org

TRANSPARENCYINTERNATIONALNEPALcoalition against corruption

The grievance collection and mechanism for redress under the ALAC-DP program, currently operating in 12 districts in Nepal, has proven to be very effective. Over the years, the district partners continue to receive grievances from the general public in relation to inefficiency in public services. Till April 2014, TIN has received 1,312 cases from the districts.

The Advocacy Legal Advice Centre and Development Pact (ALACDP) program, initiated in 2012, underwent a midterm review in September 2014. The Management Association of Nepal team, lead by Mr. Janak Lal Shah and his associate Mr. Kaji Dahal, conducted an extensive literature review as well as field visits. The preliminary findings of the report revealed that the intervention has a positive impact on the overall governance system of the districts. There have been 21 Development Pacts (Pledges) signed by the Government Office Chiefs of the respective offices at public functions. There is also a monitoring mechanism in place to ensure the commitments made in the pledges remain strong. The report further suggests that in contrary to their limited human and financial resources, the local district program offices and the activities initiated by the Community Based Organizations have helped increase accountable and transparent public service delivery in the district significantly.

GRIEVANCES

MIDTERM REVIEW:

TIN welcomed a new intern, Ms. Dafny Tsak from Greece. Ms. Tsak is currently pursuing her Masters degree in International Cooperation and Development in ASERI, the Graduate School of Economics and International Relations, Italy. By the end of her internship in November 2014, she will produce a research paper, focusing on the impact of corruption in the development sector of Nepal.

• TIN is in the process of meeting constitutional bodies and governmental agencies concerned with transparency, accountability and integrity, to obtain information on the workings of the bodies and to explore the possibility of future collaboration.

• TIN President Mr. Bharat Bahadur Thapa will be attending the Transparency International Annual General Meeting in Berlin on 17-19 October 2014.

• The TIN National Integrity Award 2071 will be presented on the 9th December 2014.

NEW INTERN: UPCOMING ACTIVITIES