While an interim government is coming together in Kathmandu under Interim Prime Minister, Sushila Karki, the “local level” are still counting their losses. Hundreds of local government office buildings were looted and set ablaze, many of them burned to the ground and others still standing but unusable. Among those worst hit is Pokhara metropolitan city which lost, not only most of its headquarters, but also a staggering 26 of its 33 ward offices, plus nine municipal vehicles.

In Kirtipur municipality, also badly hit, the six-storey municipal building burned to the ground, 10 vehicles and 22 motorcycles were torched, and computers and documents went up in flames, causing a loss of estimated one billion Nrs.

Full story

The ravage from the “Gen Z uprising” on Tuesday hit the private business sector hard. As the ashes are swept away, the full scale of the destruction is coming to light. The losses are estimated to run into the hundreds of billion rupees, and post-riot effects on the investment climate are likely to have further economic consequences. As losses are still being counted, local businesses and professional associations were organising a rally today in Bhairahawa to call attention to it.

Meanwhile, after seeing the destruction up close, “Gen Z leaders” are distancing themselves from what took place on Tuesday when most of the arson and looting took place.

Full story

As if struck by an earthquake, scores of buildings now lie in ruin, not only in Kathmandu, but also in the districts. Rarely has a spontaneous youth movement accomplished such a coordinated attack on strategic infrastructure in such a short time. Typically, a peaceful demonstration turned violent leads to random vandalism on whatever is around. This case, however, was different.

It all began in earnest on Monday, starting with a peaceful demonstration which escalated into violent clashes. The next day, massive attacks took the unrest to an unprecedented level. Tuesday evening Singha Durbar was still burning, smoke billowing over the capital; Bhat-Bhateni was in flames; and the Parliament and Supreme Court buildings had been torched.

Full story

The work on the Federal Civil Service bill, passed by the National Assembly last Tuesday, has disappointed many advocates of a truly federal system. The reason can be summed up by recalling what the chairman of the Public Service Commission, Madhav Prasad Regmi, declared before the parliamentary committee on the bill. He proposed that “provincial secretaries and chief administrative officers of local governments must be federal employees”. This “word of advice” ran directly counter to the 2015 Constitution, yet the National Assembly just followed the same words to the letter.

The Federal Civil Service Act, expected to receive approval in the Lower House next week, may mark the end of a long legislative journey for some, but perhaps the beginning of continued tussles for others.

Full story

At a time when the ongoing negotiations on the Federal Civil Service Bill have yet again stalled, newly appointed Minister of Federal Affairs and General Administration, Bhagwate Neupane, has made a “landmark” decision. She has announced the immediate termination of all positions as “acting” Chief Administrative Officer (CAO) in Nepal’s municipalities and rural municipalities. Citing a need to ensure “stability” and “professionalism” at local administrative level, the minister has decided to remove all locally posted “interim CAOs” and replace them with “permanent staff” of appropriate rank, once and for all.

For the first time, rural municipalities and municipalities are without acting Chief Administrative Officers.

Full story