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.

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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.

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Corruption continues unabated in Nepal's local governments, and some would even say that it has increased in recent years. But the schemes and methods of local corruption remain the same.

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It's not just the low number of infections that catches the eye in Nepal. It's also how slowly Covid-19 has spread.

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There are ups and downs in Nepal's municipalities from the perspective of formal goals such as to strengthen "good governance", "local democracy" or "local autonomy" - and the last 30 days are no exception!

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