Ideally, the Parliament and its members are supposed to be busy right now, getting on with the core business of lawmaking. There is an urgent need to endorse some crucial bills after thorough screenings by parliamentarians. But there seems to be no sense of urgency on the part of political parties, lawmakers and government.
For instance, a bill to amend laws related to prevention of money laundering and promotion of business environment has been registered in Parliament. The bill proposes amending 20 laws related to money laundering. Considering the urgency of matter, the erstwhile government had introduced an ordinance on the same issue, but former President Bidya Devi Bhandari had disapproved it on the grounds of looming elections. Endorsing the bill is crucial because the delay could lead to Nepal being graylisted by the Financial Action Task Force (FATF), a global anti-money laundering watchdog. Getting gray-listed by the FATF means earning Nepal disrepute for not being financially transparent. It could also affect the country's dealings with international financial institutions. But rather than acting quickly to endorse the bill, the lawmakers are skipping parliamentary meetings. Had they any sense of urgency, they should be exerting pressures on the government to endorse the bill at the earliest. Unfortunately, that is not the case. Similarly, the government has also tabled a bill to amend the transitional justice law. The bill has drawn criticisms from the main opposition, CPN-UML, international community and conflict victims. The government wants to fast-track the bill, but opposition parties and rights activists want intensive consultations and revisions on the proposed amendment bill. Parties are likely to forward the bill to the parliamentary committee for further deliberations, but the committees have not been formed yet. However, lawmakers alone cannot be held responsible for the dismal performance of Parliament. After the promulgation of the new constitution in 2015, the government and leaders of major political parties have paralyzed the House proceedings on various occasions. One of them is the state of constant tussle between the prime minister and House Speaker. Former prime minister KP Sharma Oli and then speaker Krishna Bahadur Mahara were often at odds. It was the same between immediate past prime minister Sher Bahadur Deuba and erstwhile speaker Agni Sapkota. Now, in keeping with the culture, incumbent Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal and Speaker Ghimire are also likely to feud. Ghimire was elected from the opposition, UML, and there is a growing mistrust between him and Dahal. A few days back, UML Chairman KP Sharma Oli said that a conspiracy was afoot to impeach the Speaker Ghimire. Khim Lal Devkota, a member of National Assembly, points out various reasons behind the dismal performance of Parliament. There is always a lack of coordination and communication between executive and legislature, which is important to make parliamentary activities effective and result-oriented, he says. It is the responsibility of the government to provide businesses to parliament, adds Devkota. In his view, all major political parties including the main opposition should be serious about making the Parliament more vibrant. Experts say political parties are making legislative bodies as their power center and making only those laws that serve their personal interests. The transitional justice amendment bill is a case in point, says former Supreme Court justice Balaram KC. The government wants to get it endorsed without intensive deliberations in the House, which, according to KC, is an act of betrayal against the people. The role of Speaker is also equally important for a smooth functioning of Parliament. The speaker, say experts, should take strong actions against those lawmakers who skip the House sessions without strong reasons. It is also the job of the Speaker to talk with the government and political parties to ensure that the regular business of Parliament takes place without obstructions. Former justice KC says successive governments have shown the tendency of bypassing the Parliament and relying on ordinances to pass new bills. This would not happen if we had a strong parliamentary practice, he adds. To discipline the lawmakers, many countries have a provision of preparing a report card of every parliamentarian, which includes the attendance, activities, and speeches of individual parliamentarians. Similar practice is not followed in Nepal. The Parliament Secretariat only keeps the attendance records of the lawmakers. It has been six months since the current parliament was elected, and over this period, it has not accomplished any notable task.
