Dual responsibility affects service delivery

By Kabiraj Ghimire

Hile, Jan 12 : Assistant Health Worker (AHW) Sumit Kumar Ram was working at a local health post in Ward No. 1 of Shahidbhumi Rural Municipality in Dhankuta district before 2020. 

However, since the first month of 2020, he was also given the responsibility of acting ward secretary of Ward No. 1. 

Since then, he has been visiting both the institutions to provide services. The health post and ward office are at a walking distance of an hour. 

It has been a daily routine for Ram to visit both the offices two to three times a day. “I cannot provide services in one office while I am at the other. However, I am trying to fulfill the responsibility by doing my best,” Ram said.

Generally, administration-related employees are deployed for the post of ward secretaries and chief administrative officers. However, technical officials are being deployed for the posts in the ward and municipal levels of Dhankuta district.

Moreover, officials of technical fields are demanded to provide services in two different government institutions at once while many unemployed youths await vacancies for the posts.

Meanwhile, Shahidbhumi Rural Municipality officials informed that one individual was given two responsibilities due to lack of manpower.

“We have demanded employees for a long time. However, we haven’t been provided employees by the concerned ministry,” said Manoj Rai, chairman of the municipality.

Nevertheless, even the chief administrative officer’s post of the rural municipality is upheld by an AHW.

AHW Phakir Mohammad has been deployed as the acting chief administrative officer of Shahidbhumi since November, 2022. He is also the chief of Shahidbhumi’s health division.

“When we contact the Ministry of Federal Affairs and General Administration, they reply that the process to deploy employees would start after a designated minister is sent to the ministry,” said Rai.

Rai informed that it has been difficult to provide effective services to the locals in lack of enough manpower. “The officials asked to look into more than two works are suffering mentally as well,” Rai added.

The problem is similar in other local levels of Dhankuta too. In Mahalaxmi Municipality, four technical officials are working as ward secretaries in four wards.

They are sub-engineer Sujit Bishwash in Ward No. 4, veterinarian Lal Bahadur Mahatara in Ward No. 6, sub-engineer Anjay Yadav in Ward No. 8, and veterinarian Durga Kabar in Ward No. 9.

“It is difficult to provide quality services when four officials in four wards have to work in two places,” said Dhruba Raj Raya, Mayor of Mahalaxmi Municipality.

In Sangurigadhi Rural Municipality, officials of technical sector have been deployed as acting ward secretaries in three wards of the local level.

While sub-engineer Kopila Poudel has been deployed in Ward No. 8, sub-engineer Santosh Limbu is working as the secretary of Ward Nos. 9 and 10.

Pakhribas Municipality’s chief administrative officer is also represented by an official under veterinary sector. Chief of Animal Service Department of Dhankuta Gorakh Tamang is the acting chief administrative officer of Pakhribas recently. 

Lok Bahadur Magar, who is also an expert in animal department, is also working as the secretary of Ward No. 1 of Dhankuta Municipality. 

All the local level stressed that while they have demanded officials with the ministry for a long time, the process has now been completely halted in lack of a minister.