Remittance help reduce poverty not government policy: UN human rights expert

Nepal's poverty has reduced not due to government policy rather with the help of remittance inflow, according to a UN expert.

"Poverty reduction owes more to remittances than to proactive government anti-poverty policies," the UN special rapporteur and extreme poverty and human rights, Olivier De Schutter, said today after conducting an 11-day official mission.

"A quarter of the decline in poverty can be attributed to outmigration only, with estimates showing that, without remittances, poverty would have increased in Nepal,” he said, adding that remittances in Nepal were 10 times larger than foreign aid and 2.5 larger than total exports only in 2017. "It is clear that much more needs to be done by the government to meet its own target of reducing multidimensional poverty to 11.5 per cent by 2023-2024,” the expert said, suggesting the government to ensure its skills and training programmes reach the poorest families. "While public works programmes such as the Prime Minister’s Employment Programme (PMEP) have considerable potential, in practice the programme has yet to deliver on its promise of providing 100 days of work per person per year. "In the country, 80 per cent of workers are informal, which exposes them to higher rates of abuse, largely because the government lacks the ability to enforce minimum wage legislation in the informal sector.|

Although informal workers should also contribute to and benefit from the Social Security Fund (SSF), there is currently no plan to include them in the programme, he added.

Nepal has one of the most progressive constitutions in the world, but many of its promises still are to be fulfilled, De Schutter, said, adding that Nepal has succeeded in reducing multidimensional poverty by 12.7 per cent between 2014 and 2019, and its Human Development Index (HDI) has improved, as have indicators related to health and education. "But significant gaps remain."

"Women are still lagging on a number of indicators," he said, adding that though banned, caste-based and ethnicity-based discrimination remain a reality in social life, and it is a major factor explaining the perpetuation of poverty. "Land issues remain unresolved, despite the efforts to accelerate the rehabilitation of former bonded labourers and to ensure landless Dalit benefit from land redistribution."

De Schutter’s fact-finding mission began on December 29, just weeks after the UN General Assembly voted a resolution inviting Nepal, along with Bangladesh and Lao People’s Democratic Republic, to prepare for graduation from the status of Least Developed Country (LDC) to that of an emerging economy. Nepal will benefit from a five-year transition period. “Graduation from LDC status is a major milestone for Nepal,” De Schutter said, adding that poverty reduction must be at the heart of the country’s transition strategy to ensure that no groups are left behind."

The UN expert met with communities who suffer from intersecting forms of deprivation. Most were landless daily wage labourers working in agricultural or informal jobs and struggling to send their children to school. Many were from historically disadvantaged and discriminated groups including Dalit, Madhesi, and Indigenous people, as well as women. “The stark inequalities resulting from the deeply entrenched norms and values of the Nepali caste system continue to perpetuate disadvantage today,” De Schutter added.

Women suffer the brunt of a historically patriarchal society, earning almost 30 per cent less than men, suffering from higher rates of informality, owning only 19.7 per cent of homes and land, and enduring a 17.5 per cent literacy gap compared to men, the UN poverty expert noted. "Nepal can and must do better,” he said.

Children experience the worst forms of deprivation because of the poverty their families face, he added. Over one million children work in Nepal, and in rural areas over a fifth of children do.

"During my mission, I met with countless families whose children, especially girls, engaged in agricultural or domestic work,” De Schutter said. "Wealth inequality is a major factor: over 20 per cent of children in poverty work, compared to only five percent of children from rich families."

“The government must take child poverty seriously and take the necessary steps to end child marriage and labor and improve quality of and access to education,” he added.

During his mission, the special rapporteur visited Bagmati, Karnali, Lumbini provinces, as well as Province 2. He met with nine ministries, including six ministers, as well as local and provincial authorities, people affected by poverty, civil society organisations, and development cooperation and UN agencies.

World Bank likely to exempt loan

The World Bank (WB) is likely to give a surprise gift – most probably by exempting loan – for the low income country including Nepal.
The World Bank and International Monetary Fund (IMF) is going to give a ‘surprise’ at the end of the ongoing spring meeting, according to World Bank country manager Faris Hadad-Zervos.
The government has requested the development partners – including World Bank, Asian Development Bank (ADB), International Monetary Fund (IMF), Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) – to either waive or differ the interest and loan payment schedule. The development partners have neither denied nor accepted Nepal’s proposal. However, the IMF-WB spring meeting is expected to take some decision on the matter.
Speaking to the journalists today, through a video conference, organised by the Society of Economic Journalists Nepal (Sejon), Faris said that the impact of coronavirus pandemic in the global economy is going to be unfortunate for the next few years.
“The World, South Asia and Nepal are going to see significant drop in GDP growth in the ongoing and upcoming few years as per him,” he said, adding that the GDP in South Asia – before the pandemic – was expected to grow at 6.3 per cent. “But as the result of the Covid-19, the region is likely to see GDP growth between 1.8 per cent and 2.8 percent in the current fiscal year, which the worst growth rate in last 40 years.”
The GDP growth in South Asia is expected to remain moderate in 2021 fiscal year at 3.7 per cent to 4.2 per cent, according to the World Bank. Though Nepal is located between two big neighbours and neighbours themselves have witnessed reduction in growth, this will also leave an impact on Nepal and its growth, he said, adding that the recession that we are going through this coronavirus pandemic is different than other. “It is not just recession but a different type of recession.”
Usually recessions impact investment and demand for goods. Normally, recessions are demand-driven while the current recession due to coronavirus is supply-driven. “We are currently facing supply-short rather than demand short, Faris said, adding that understanding this recession differently will help economies use different new and unique tools to revive economy and growth. “Understanding this panic differently will also help countries to bring out necessary stimulus package in unlocking supply side constraints.”
According to the World Bank's projection, the GDP in Nepal is expected to grow between 1.5 per cent and 2.8 per cent in the current fiscal year, while the growth would be roughly 3 per cent in the next fiscal year 2021-22.
Remittance hit will directly affect foreign exchange, Faris said, adding that employment and migration, trade and tourism sector will be directly hit in Nepal. “We expect that Nepal's inflation will go above six per cent in the current fiscal year due to the supply shock while both fiscal deficit and the current account deficit are expected to be widened.”
He also informed that the World Bank is working with the government to support Nepal tackle the pandemic and recover the economy. “World Bank believes that a lot has to be done next year on priority basis,” he said, adding that the first priority should be the immediate health response and the government is already doing it. “The second is immediate social assistance and jobs as many overseas Nepalis will be returning home which demands huge number of jobs. The Prime Minister Employment Programme (PMEP) and other such programmes should be focused.”
As it is a supply shock, thirdly we need to focus on the real sector by making sure that production of goods are continued, boosted and small and medium scale industries are focused, he added. “Similarly, supply chain should be made intact, and the fourth priority should be macroeconomic stability as the spending is going to be huge, there needs to be prioritisation of spending.”
To help Nepal prioritise the on the focus sectors, the Work Bank is moving 18 per cent of its portfolio from our existing portfolio projects towards Covid-19 response, he added.

Government passes criterion for employment coordinator

Amid suspicion that the government will appoint its cadres for the post of employment coordinator, the government approved criteria for Appointment of Employment Coordinator-2019.
According to the criteria, an employment coordinator will be hired on contract basis. “The position of the employment coordinator – though is filled with open competition – will be temporary with the term not exceeding one year,” the criteria read, adding that the coordinator can, however, be re-appointed for one more term on contract basis.
The government is appointing employment coordinator to make the Prime Minister Employment programme (PMEP) successful. The Prime Minister Employment Programme is the ambitious programme – relaunched by the incumbent Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli – to create temporary employment for a jobless Nepali citizen. The unemployed people between 18 to 59 years of age will be given 100 days of employment in a fiscal year, under the Prime Ministers Employment Programme (PMEP). A jobless will also get vocational and skill-orientated training along with employment-related information. The programme has been implemented in all the 753 local levels, and an employment coordinator is important person to make the programme successful.
The post of employment coordinator at Employment Service Centres will be set up in all the 753 local levels. “A local level having population of more than 10,000 will have one employment coordinator equivalent to the sixth level of local service, while a municipality or rural municipality with less than 10,000 population will have an employment coordinator, whose post will be equivalent to the fifth level of local service,” the criteria reads, adding that a Nepali citizen with at least bachelor’s degree will be eligible for the post of employment coordinator equivalent to the sixth level of local service. “However, academic qualification of employment coordinator equivalent to the fifth level is proficiency certificate level.”
The criteria also fixed the maximum age limit for both the posts at 45 years.
Like any other government appointment, the candidate convicted of criminal offences involving moral turpitude will not be eligible to apply for the posts. “A three-member committee led by a subject expert will be formed for the appointment of employment coordinator,” the criteria read, adding that
As the local levels have to appoint the employment coordinator through open competititon, they have to publish or broadcast the advertisement through local and national level newspapers and electronic media to fill the post. “The candidates should be shortlisted on merit basis,” the criteria read, adding that a person with the best score in written and practical exams will be appointed. “The chief administrative officer of the local level will conduct performance evaluation of employment coordinator every four months. If the performance of the employment coordinator is found not satisfactory, the Ministry of Labour, Employment and Social Security may recommend the local level concerned to dismiss him or her.”
The employment coordinator will update the list of unemployed persons, issue identity cards to unemployed, identify employment opportunities within the local level, carry out employment mapping, liaise with employers for providing employment opportunities to the listed unemployed persons, recommend skill development training for unemployed persons, disseminate necessary information to persons wishing to go abroad for foreign employment and distribute allowance to unemployed persons though the banking channel, according to the criteria.

World Bank supports employment and education programmes

Despite huge criticism the government is borrowing Rs 13.73 billion from the World Bank to finance politically motivated employment programme.
The government and the World Bank today signed two separate agreements today to improve employment services and labour market outcomes for Nepali youth and continue support for the government’s flagship School Sector Development Programme (SSDP). According to a press note issued by the World Bank (WB), finance secretary Dr Rajan Khanal and the World Bank country manager for Nepal Faris H Hadad-Zervos signed the agreements today at the Finance Ministry.
“Human capital development and creation of jobs within the country for young people, especially women, is a top priority of the government,” Khanal said, adding that the support for promoting social security and quality education is an important contributor for achieving effective service delivery under Nepal’s new federal structure and our goal of a Prosperous Nepal and Happy Nepali.
The Youth Employment Transformation Initiative (YETI) is a new project of $ 120 million (approximately Rs 13.73 billion) that aims to strengthen the systems and services for employability including programmes like the Prime Minister Employment Programme (PMEP). The project is expected to benefit 100,000 young people, especially women, and will be implemented by the Ministry of Labour, Employment and Social Security over a period of five years.
Though, experts have been criticising the government for borrowing money to be spent on a politically potivated programme – that became controvercial in the last fiscal year too – the YETI will support the 753 Employment Service Centers (ESCs) at the local level to increase access to employment opportunities by providing employment promotion and employment support services for registered job seekers. “It will also support a holistic National Employment Management Information System (NEMIS) for effective and efficient management and monitoring of the services provided by the project and PMEP, management of data on job seekers and job-related opportunities, and evidence-based employment policy formulation,” reads the press note.
Last year also, the government was criticised for misusing the public purse – in the name of Prime Minister Employment Programme (PMEP) – for temporary jobs that neither created wealth nor helped capital formation. But the government is implementing the PMEM this year with the borrowed money from World Bank.
Amid worries that the money could end up on handouts as has been widely reported last year about instances of doling out funds for works like gardening and cleaning, Hadad-Zervos said that there are enough safeguard measures to make sure that the project meet its purposes. “The system and processes designed not only at the center, but also at the local level, ensure that proper people will be identified that need this type of job opportunities, transparency in payment and sustainability of jobs,” he said, claiming that the funding will ultimately help development projects at the local level.
The World Bank also claimed that the project is expected to create temporary employment opportunities in the maintenance of public assets and provision of services to engage up to 35,000 vulnerable individuals and yield about 3.5 million work-days annually. “The temporary employment opportunities will be complemented by on-the-job and life skills trainings of up to 50 days per individual to improve the employability of young people in the long run and ensure sustainability, following the updated PMEP guideline,” the press note reads, adding that the project is also expected to also support capacity building initiatives to facilitate effective service delivery and coordination in the new federal structure while creating synergies with the private sector and existing projects to promote employment and employment-related services.
Likewise, Additional Financing (AF)of $23.958 million (approximately Rs 2.74 billion) was made available through the Global Partnership for Education (GPE) Grant to support Nepal’s School Sector Development Programme (SSDP). The SSDP annually benefits over 7 million students and over 180,000 teachers and early childhood education development (ECED) facilitators in more than 30,000 community schools and ECED centers across the country.
The additional financing will maintain support for the government’s SSDP to improve quality, equity and efficiency within the school education sector. It will also safeguard and maximize SSDP’s development impact during the ongoing federal transition. The additional financing will explicitly focus on education service delivery, especially for the most disadvantaged and setting strong foundations for the decentralised education systems. “It will help mitigate risks to education quality and access given heterogeneity in capacity and quality of governance at the local level,” the press note reads.
The GPE AF follows the results-based financing used in the parent IDA School Sector Development Programme to build on the existing momentum and results-focus by directly incentivising the government’s ownership and implementation of critical reforms and policies. It also offers more flexibility to tailor interventions to local contexts, which aligns well with the federal transition.
“Once children and young people are given the opportunity to access quality education, skills and meaningful employment, the potential for Nepal’s development can be truly unlocked,” World Bank country manager for Nepal Faris H Hadad-Zervos said, adding that the World Bank is committed to invest in people to contribute to Nepal’s growth trajectory as a trusted partner of Nepal.

PM Employment Programme benefits some 175,909 unemployed

Though, the economists and opposition have been blaming the government for wasting the taxpayers hard-earned money on unproductive way, the government today claimed that it has provided employment to some 175,909 people through 6,864 projects across the country – based on the data received from 599 local units – run by various local units under the ambitious Prime Minister Employment Programme (PMEP) in the last fiscal year 2018-19.
According to the Ministry of Labour, Employment and Social Security (MoLESS), the programme beneficiaries carried out some 2,262,269 days of work through 6,864 community works (projects) that amounted to Rs 2.37 billion in the last fiscal year. A total of 31,958 beneficiaries in Province 5 carried out tasks that amounted to 492,630 working days. Similarly, some 34,432 beneficiaries in Sudur Paschim Province carried out tasks of 433,306 days; some 27,448 people in Province 2 carried out tasks of 312,675 days; some 31,022 persons in Province 1 completed works of 311,093 days; some 25,871 in Karnali Province carried out works of 283,755 days; some 17,619 persons in Province 3 carried out works of 226,036 days; and some 17,559 people in Gandaki Province carried out work of 202,774 days.
According to the ministry, these projects provided employment for 13 days per person and received Rs 13,460 in an average. Organising a press meet at the ministry today, minister for Labour, Employment and Social Security, Gokarna Bista, said that the government has been able to create short-term employment opportunities through these programmes in the first year of the implementation of the programme. “We have been able to create employment for such a high number of people in the first year of the implementation of the programme after completing over 86 legal processes,” Bista said, claiming that the issue of employment was never a priority earlier. “But, we have been able to create employment opportunities in a massive scale.”
Though the short term employment means those who were employed have already been unemployed by now, the government has claimed that its vow to create half a million employment in the current fiscal year could also be met with the federal government allocating Rs 2.36 billion in conditional grants to the local units to run such programmes to create such short term unemployment. “Each local unit had received up to Rs 10 million to run such projects for employment programmes,” the minister claimed.
The ministry, however, claimed that the actual employment figures could be higher as they are still collecting data from all local units across the country.
The incumbent Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli had launched the Prime Minister Employment Programme with a much fanfare on February 13 last year, but the programme became a controversial from the very beginning due to its non-transperent way of allocationg the budget. The government had allocated Rs 3.10 billion for the programme in the last fiscal year 2018-19. “The budget has been wasted in the haphazard manner, and the party cadres have been paid for no-output show-up programmes,” the economists blamed, adding that the government hass borrowed the budget from the development partner especially from the World Bank (WB) to diostribute to its party cadres but the Nepali citizens have to pay for the interest of the money spent by Nepal Communist Party (NCP) party cadres. Despite criticism of misuse of the development partner’s fund, the government has allocated Rs 5.1 billion for the PMEP for this fiscal year 2019-20.
However, minister Bista – in the press meet – defended the programme in the press meet claiming the programme to be successful. “These employment programmes include road construction and maintenance, irrigation canals, preservation of ponds and heritage sites, and construction of walking trails,” he claimed, adding that the government mobilised unemployed citizens, who are registered with the Employment Service Center (ESC) set up in each local unit under local development programmes. Bista also informed that the government has now appointed employment coordinators in most of the local bodies to make the programme move ahead in a full-fledged manner from the current fiscal year.
Over 1.71 million people have registered in these centers across the country so far, according to data compiled by the ministry, which is still in the process of verifying the eligibility of the applicants.
Under the programme – introduced also to implement the Act to Guarantee the Right to Employment 2075 – all citizens registered with the ESCs should get employment opportunity for at least 100 days in a year, if none of their family members are employed for a year. If the government fails to provide employment opportunities to those registered with the ESCs, it must pay them 50 per cent of the minimum wage as unemployed allowance, the Act reads. “Since the government had set a monthly minimum wage of Rs 13,450 for workers on July 9, last year, such families will receive Rs 22,417 annually.”
The Constitution of Nepal has also guaranteed the right to employment to the citizens. 

Nepal, Mauritius sign labour deal

Nepal and Mauritius today signed a labour deal on the sidelines of the ILO Centenary Conference in Geneva, Switzerland – to facilitate the flow of Nepali migrant workers to the Sub Saharan African island nation – in the the presence of Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli.
The agreement – signed by Minister for Labour, Employment and Social Security Gokarna Bista and Mauritius Minister for Labour, Industrial Relations, Employment and Training Soodesh Satkam Callichurn – commits that both the country will employ workers in accordance to the principles of transparency, ethical recruitment, fairness and mutual benefit. “
According to the pact, all the costs and fees for recruitment shall be borne by the employer, including the fees paid to the recruitment agencies in Nepal. “Nepali migrant labourers in Mauritius will be employed in the hospitality, hotel and manufacturing sectors; recruited persons will get a minimum wage equal to that of Mauritians, which is about $240, and no worker will be discriminated based on wages, compensation, work environment, overtime and access to justice,” it reads.
Likewise, the agreement also reads that Mauritius employers will incur all the travel and other costs of Nepali workers under ‘Employer Pays Principle’, which includes fees to recruitment agencies, travel expenses, work permits, insurance fees, medical expenses and other expenses incurred during the recruitment process.
Similarly, the employer will also bear expenses in the event of death and repatriation of the body and the last rites involved, with the consent of deceased persons’ families, the provisions of the Nepal-Mauritius Labour Agreement, reads, adding that the workers have the right to judicial remedy at ‘no cost’, along with allowing them to apply for visa and get temporary employment even when a case is sub judice – under judicial consideration but prohibited from public discussion. “Through the MoU, both countries have expressed their commitment to control and regulate the practice of charging workers unnecessary fees while going for employment.”
The Nepal-Mauritius labour pact also includes leave for workers in the event of family members’ death, emergency insurance coverage, medical treatment in accordance with Mauritius laws, one month gratuity for each year of employment and employment certificate on return to Nepal after completion of work experience. “Both the countries shall cooperate to address issues of irregular and/or illegal recruitment of workers as well as matters relating to trafficking and forced labour.”
Workers shall have the ability to change jobs legally in case the employer does not abide by the contractual obligations or a business shuts down, the agreement reads, adding, “In such cases, the worker shall have the right to return to Nepal if he or she so desires and the employer will have to bear all associated costs. The agreement also has provisions for proper monitoring of timely payment of wages and other benefits.”
Likewise, a Joint Working Group will be set up to ensure proper implementation of the pact and to determine other key items associated with the workers’ recruitment, employment and repatriation, including mutual skills recognition, insurance coverage amount. Medical treatment and insurance for workplace injury shall be provided as per the laws of Mauritius, the pact reads.
The labour pact is the government’s effort to expand the number of job destinations for Nepalis seeking foreign employment, though the government has been claiming to create employment in the country. The government has also started the Prime Minister Employment Programme (PMEP) to create the employment, which according to the experts the gross misuse of the tax payers money.

Government calls unemployed to apply for jobs

The government has sought applications for Prime Minister Employment Programme (PMEP). Ministry of Labour, Employment and Social Security (MoLESS) – issuing a public notice today – said that job aspirants need to apply for the jobs before April 13.
According to the notice, job aspirants need to submit their applications at the local level. "The government will guarantee jobs for a minimum of 100 days to those who are unemployed," the notice reads, adding that the programme – unveiled by prime minister KP Sharma Oli on February 13 – will also ensure that all the unemployed people will get 50 per cent of the minimum wage that it has set if they remain unemployed for 100 days and none of their family members are employed for a year.
The government had set a monthly minimum wage of Rs 13,450 for workers on July 9 last year. Hence, such families will receive Rs 22,417 annually 50 per cent of the government-set minimum wage for 100 days. According to the ministry, it has allocated a budget of Rs 3.5 billion for the programme for the current fiscal year.
Earlier, the ministry had opened applications for the post of employment coordinator in all 753 local levels of the seven provinces through an online system. But the government has selected employment coordinators for 232 local levels only as none of the candidates in remaining local levels were able to pass the initial computer based examination. The government has also established Employment Service Centres at all local bodies to collect data of unemployed youths.
The employment coordinator will work to collect data of the unemployed persons at the local level, update and provide identity cards to the listed unemployed people. It will also facilitate employment opportunities for them while making recommendations for various kinds of skills-oriented training programmes.
Under the ambitious Prime Minister Employment Programme, the government will deploy the unemployed youths in government identified sectors like agriculture, tourism, construction, transportation, energy and power, forest and environment.