All govt. layers review performance on IT sector: Comms Minister Dr Timilsina

Kathmandu: The thematic committee under the Ministry of Information and Communications has decided to sort out and amend old laws related to information and communications, push structural reforms, and foster a digital system, thereby making effective the performance of the three tiers of government.

The thematic committee formed on IT as per Section 22 of the Federal, Province and Local Level (coordination and interrelation) Act, 2077 BS, took a vital decision to forward restructuring as per the federal form of governance.

The committee meeting held today endorsed a work procedure, 2083, on it. It will also conduct regular monitoring of the decisions and performance in the days.

In the meeting, Minister for Information and Communications, Dr Bikram Timilsina, said it is imperative to align existing laws with changing technologies.

Law-making has been accorded utmost priority, he said, adding that a candid discussion on coordination, cooperation and exchange of learning among three tiers of government helps spur reform.

The duplication and triplication of performances among various levels of governments would be reviewed seriously, and so will be the case in the distribution of grants, advertisement and effectiveness of media.

Distribution of public welfare advertisements should be made transparent, and taxes paid by citizens need wise use, he added. The meeting witnessed issues such as hassles in service delivery owing to separate mechanisms of the three levels of government, ambiguity in rights and responsibilities, and a tendency not to accept the work done by one government level by the other, thereby weakening coordination.

Other problems surfaced in the meeting were media registration and renewal, distribution of press passes for media persons, online media management, legal ambiguity in the broadcasting sector, and film and telecommunications.

The meeting decided that province government would coordinate related works as per the Radio Act, 2014 BS, and the Radio Transmission (License) Regulations, 2049 BS, so that the license of radio equipment would be managed.

Suggestions from all the provinces would be garnered for legal reforms. Process to amend the Printing and Publishing Act, 2049 BS would be forwarded to remove the ambiguities related to registration and renewal of online media.

The meeting also took a decision to proceed with revision of regulations so as to resolve problems facing the renewal of online media registered as per provincial laws. An integrated system would be developed to manage the database and regulation of the communications sector.

A similar system of media would be in place in coordination with the federal ministry and provinces, local levels and Press Council Nepal. With this, registration, renewal, monitoring and documentation of media houses would come under a single mechanism.

Revival of postal service is a key decision to bring reform in government service, as per which the post service would be transformed into a courier service. The provincial and local governments have been requested to extend coordination to the federal government’s plan of using the postal service to deliver government/ official documents such as passports, driver’s licenses, SIM cards, educational certificates to people’s doorsteps.

Encroachment upon the land and property of the postal office and coordination with the local levels also featured in the meeting. Securing resources for diversification, modernisation, and digital transformation of postal services through policies and budgets resonated in the meeting.

The committee will forward the implementation of the model guidelines prepared by the Advertising Board to remove the disparity plaguing the management of the advertising sector. It is expected to make advertising transparent, responsive, and consistent through coordination among the three levels.

A strategy will be advanced to develop film, documentary, photography, and digital content production as an industry. It will help make Nepal a site of international film shooting and creative arts, thereby promoting natural and cultural heritage internationally.

All layers of the government have promised facilitation on it, according to the ministry. Quality ‘broadband’ service would be ensured at the local level through effective use of the Rural Telecommunications Development Fund; the government publication system would be made uniform; and production, publication, and broadcasting of news in the mother language as recommended by the Language Commission would be encouraged and enforced.

Promotion of responsible journalism and public awareness programmes was also on the agenda during the discussion. Even the Minister for Internal Affairs and Law from Sudurpaschim Province, Hira Sunar, attended the meeting and spoke on the need for the federal ministry to bring a clear umbrella law that covers the communications sector well.

Lack of workforce is a stark problem in the provinces, he said, adding that a process to draft the Mass Communications Bill was going on in his province. Sarki also saw need of clear policy on new challenges like cybersecurity.

Secretary at the federal ministry, Laxmi Kumari Basnet, said it was necessary to take ahead the ‘unbundling’ process to remove the ambiguities in the exercise of rights among three tiers of government.

She was assured of adequate coordination from the federal ministry with the sub-national ones. The ministry was also coordinating with the Office of the Prime Minister and the Council of Ministers on the unbundling of rights.

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