Newsletter 2: Bills, Letters and the Public

Monthly progress tracker of the tasks done by Member of Parliament Sumana Shrestha and her secretariat.

Namaskar dear readers,

I am Sumana Shrestha, a member of the House of Representatives in the Federal Parliament of Nepal 2022. 

In this monthly newsletter, I update you about the work my secretariat and I have been up to for the past month. And let me tell you, the past month has been intense! From writing letters to various ministries across a range of issues to proposing amendments to two bills, to creating online communities and channels for public feedback on bills tabled in the parliament – it has been an exciting month!  

Here on, you will find a summary of the tasks we have accomplished in the past month. 

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Land Encroachment of Bal Mandir 

Issue:  According to media reports, a total of 57 ropanis of land under the ownership of Bal Mandir and Lalit Kala Pratisthan has been encroached on by large corporations.

• Steps Taken: 
  (a) Raised issue in the Parliamentary session on February 22, 2023: demanding that the government immediately publish the report of the 'High-Level Investigation Commission on Nepal Children's Organisation' 

  (b) Submitted letters to the Ministry of Women, Children and Social Welfare (MoWSC) and Ministry of Home Affairs (MoHA) demanding the report.  

• Progress: MoHA has said the report is with MoWSC. Haven’t heard from MoWSC.

• Next steps: Follow up with MoWSC. 

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Data on government-owned vehicles

Agenda: Accessing comprehensive data and information on government-owned vehicles

• Steps taken: Submitted letters to the Ministry of Physical Infrastructure and Transportation, Ministry of Home Affairs and Financial Comptroller General Office (FCGO) requesting comprehensive data and information on government-owned vehicles, their conditions, value, and expenditure.

• Findings: There is no centralized data repository of the said information. A new system was adopted two years ago to centralize data at FCGO but the process of consolidating information is slow.

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VVIP Protocols

Issue: Following up on the governments’ commitment to changing VVIP protocols.

• Steps taken: Submitted letters to the Office of the Prime Minister and Council of Ministers and the Ministry of Home Affairs (MoHA) requesting information on changes in VVIP protocols. 

• Progress: MoHA responded that the amendment proposals have been made and have been submitted to the cabinet. 

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Created a Facebook Group: Bill Hackathon

Issue: Bill Hackathon serves as a platform that empowers parliamentarians to ready themselves for these bills, fostering dialogue among stakeholders, and promoting meaningful participation in this critical process. The overall goal is to guarantee that the general public is as involved in the law-drafting process as possible, that they are aware of the laws' ramifications, and express their opinions. 

• Tasks accomplished: It has 4,700 members as of March 15, 2023. Collected amendment proposals from the public on two bills: 

1. Food Hygiene and Quality Control-2079 

• Raised issue in the parliament on Feb 15: bill provides no support to local producers and favours importers, no assistance to small and medium enterprises in the transitional phases as we apply restrictions

• Submitted a 34-point amendment to the bill.

• Publicly shared our stance on the amendments submitted.

• One of our amendments has been rejected, however, we are not satisfied on the grounds with which it was rejected. Currently, we are trying to understand what our next steps should be.

2. Prevention of Money Laundering and Promotion of Business Environment Bill-2079

• Raised concerns in the parliament on February 22, 2023: on provisions in the bill that seeks to convert black money into white, requested that Financial Action Task Force (FATF) reports be made public and to focus on implementations as opposed to passing such bills that go against a precedent established by the Supreme Court in 2067. 

• Submitted a 6-point amendment to the bill. 

3. MP Ganesh Parajuli has taken the lead on Monitoring and Evaluation Bill-2079

• Next steps: Allow cross-party usage of the platform to collect amendment proposals on various bills. On March 18, 2023, we are organizing our first in-person Bill Hackathon on Information Technology Bill 2075.

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Parliamentary Calendar

Issue: Lack of parliamentary calendar in the House of Representatives

• Tasks accomplished: A draft of the Regulations on House of Representatives 2079 includes a provision that the House of Representatives “can make” a parliamentary calendar.

• Next steps: Propose amendments to the bill, changing the wording from “can make” to “will make.”

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Other information and topics covered:

How do we work? You can learn about the working modality of the Sumana Shrestha Secretariat here. 

Why is the District Court not fast-tracking decisions in the rape case against cricketer Sandeep Lamichhane?

Interview appearances:

1. Ukaalo - Making laws to benefit certain groups is a bigger corruption

2. Setopati - What has MP Sumana seen and learnt in the past two months

3. Yaksha Prashna - Stories of excitement and inspiration

Facebook | Instagram | Twitter | Website

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We hope this email serves as a point of information to our readers. As we gear up to organize our very first in-person Bill Hackathon on March 18, please follow our social media platforms to stay up to date with our work. 

We would be grateful if you could share our work with your peers, colleagues and family so that we create a culture of participatory democracy together! 

Additionally, feel free to write to us about any issue you would like to discuss. 

Thank you.

Best regards, 

Sumana Shrestha Secretariat