Interaction with National Assembly Members on Public Policy Concludes

January 2, 2023

Date: 2 January 2023

The interaction – organized by Policy Research Institute to explore ways to harmonise policymaking with lawmaking – was attended by presidents, members and secretaries of all the four committees under the National Assembly. Also, present were secretaries from the Federal Parliament Secretariat.

National Assembly Chairperson Ganesh Prasad Timilsina graced the event that was chaired by PRI Executive Chairperson Dr Bishnu Raj Upreti. Dr Mukti Ram Rijal, the Senior Research Fellow at PRI, welcomed all the present to the event.

At the start of the interaction, PRI Chairperson Upreti stated that Nepal’s public policies have not been effective to execute the Directive Principles (Article 50) and Policies of the State (Article 51) established by the constitution of Nepal, and discussed possible roles parliamentary committees can play to make public policies more effective.

Participating in the interaction, National Assembly members observed that:

  1. Policymaking should be self-operating – i.e., system-based – and should not be subjected to individual and partisan interests.
  2. Policies should be made based on the need following consultations with all concerned stakeholders.
  3. Institutions responsible for policymaking and lawmaking should work in harmony. PRI should act, where necessary, as the bridge between these two functions.
  4. To avoid possible discords between policies and laws, lawmakers should participate in the process right from their drafting (which is not the case now).
  5. There should be a separate entity to ensure harmony between policies and laws
  6. The bureaucracy should be reformed to create an enabling environment for the effective implementation of policies and laws.

Addressing the event, National Assembly Chairperson Timilsina remarked that interaction of its kind should be held regularly. Policies that are made without an in-depth study of their need and relevance do not deliver, he said, urging PRI to get more actively involved in policymaking processes. He also assured that he will push ahead with the bill aimed at institutionalising PRI, as originated from the National Assembly over two years ago.

For more details about the event, please consult the Nepali note.
Photographs of the programme.