Government Decides to Review Approximately 11,495 Temporary Positions

The government has decided to review the 11,495 temporary positions created two years ago without conducting an organizational and management survey. The 63rd Annual Report of the Office of the Auditor General has recommended a comprehensive review of federal employee positions and appropriate management based on service delivery needs. The government is preparing to reduce the number of ministries from 22 to 18 and reassess the positions of secretaries and joint secretaries across various agencies.

May 24, Kathmandu – The government is planning to review about 11,495 temporary employee positions added two years ago without an organizational and management survey. The Prime Minister’s Office is currently investigating the necessity of these positions. According to the latest annual report from the Civil Service Accounting Office, there are 86,485 employees working across the country’s three levels of government. Approximately half of these, or 41,330 employees, serve at the federal level, while the province level has 13,115, and the local level employs 32,075 staff members. Over the past five years, the total number of employees at all three levels has decreased by 2,000, with the federal level’s workforce remaining nearly stable. In 2018, there were 48,500 federal level positions. In the last seven years, the number of federal positions has increased by 3,175. Additionally, around 11,000 temporary positions have been created without procedural compliance, as highlighted by the Auditor General.

The Auditor General’s report states, “The ministry approved 11,495 temporary positions for fiscal year 2081/82 without conducting an organizational and management survey as per the Civil Service Act. A systematic process is needed for the addition and removal of positions applicable across all three government levels.” Recently, the government reduced the number of ministries from 22 to 18; however, the number of employees from secretary to deputy secretary levels has not decreased. There are situations where two administrative directorates exist within a single ministry to manage personnel. An employee from the Secretariat of Prime Minister Balendra Shah said, “Initially, there was a plan to have two secretaries in one ministry. Later, some were considered for transfer to the provincial level. Within the next three months, around 7-8 secretaries are due for retirement. There are limited options to transfer or reassign them extensively. We expect some decisions to be made within this week.”