Digital Governance

Nepal's civil service has earned notoriety for its red tape, inefficiency and unreceptive attitude towards service seekers. When people visit government offices for document preparation or information on public matters, employees should promptly complete their tasks. But this public expectation is not always met. In some cases, bureaucratic rigmarole pushes the citizens from pillar to post, with no one taking specific responsibility to handle the visitors’ tasks. In offices that are involved in economic transactions, the citizens are forced to pay bribes to the related officials to get their work done in time. Some time ago, a former minister, who resigned from the previous government on the ground that the civil servants did not support implementing his plans, publicly stated that corruption is widespread from top to bottom. According to him, development projects are sanctioned only when the authorities are offered a certain amount as kickbacks. 

In the elections to the House of Representatives held last March, the people voted for Rastriya Swatantra Party (RSP) for its promise to root out corruption. The party secured a huge mandate and formed the government, making public its '100-point reform plan' that seeks to take drastic steps to end corruption, maintain good governance and ensure effective service delivery. It has committed to achieving 7 per cent growth next year and creating a $100 billion economy in five to seven years. These targets are ambitious but not unattainable. To achieve its goal, the government has implemented the concept of digital governance that makes service delivery fast and holds government employees accountable to their decisions. The digital transactions are transparent and drastically reduce the cases of corruption. It develops a paperless and data-driven administrative system, ending inordinate delays and cumbersome procedures.

The government has started to implement a number of schemes, including integrated digital platforms, electronic signatures, online appointments, automated file tracking, home delivery of government documents and a national data exchange system under its digital governance framework, according to a news report this daily ran. Now the authorities are engaged in implementing 'submit once' principle in which the service seekers should no longer submit the same information and documents to different government offices time and again. Now personal data provided to one government agency will be registered into the government systems and available to all agencies. More than two months into office, the people have experienced change in service delivery. It has enforced doorstep service in more than 60 districts. The citizens can now obtain services such as citizenship certificates and passports at their homes.

The government has eliminated the involvement of middlemen in the Land Administration Offices where a greater number of service seekers visit. Now they can have access to services directly, without paying money to the brokers to get their work done. Similarly, services such as driving licences, national identity cards and police character certificates have also been integrated into the Nagarik App. Technical and procedural barriers regarding the electronic signatures will come to an end by linking authentication to the National Identity Card, biometric verification or one-time password (OTP). Likewise, a National Data Exchange Platform will allow federal, provincial and local government databases to communicate with each other. The government's digital vision has been well articulated in its slogan “Not in line (queue), but online.” This reformative approach will break the traditional governing practice. However, challenges lie in the implementation of digital schemes, as our workforce is still accustomed to the old working style. Efficient and technology-savvy employees are the key to translating digital governance into reality.