Himal Press 
Public Service Commission Chairperson Madhav Regmi (Photo: RSS)
KATHMANDU: The Public Service Commission (PSC) has suggested keeping positions such as Province Secretary and Chief Administrative Officer (CAO) of local units under the federal civil service structure.
Presenting its recommendations on the Federal Civil Service Bill at the meeting of the State Affairs and Good Governance Committee of the House of Representatives on Friday, PSC said reservation benefits should be limited to one time at the assistant and officer levels. It also suggested setting the government service entry age at 32 for general candidates and 37 for women and persons with disabilities. For retirement, the PSC has proposed a phased approach to gradually increase the mandatory retirement age to 60 – 58 years in the first fiscal year, 59 in the second, and 60 from the third fiscal year onward.
PSC Chairperson Madhav Prasad Regmi proposed a 10% quota for open, internal, and inter-level competition and a 90% quota for promotions under Clause 10(1)(J) of the bill. “The current trends of employees preparing for internal examination for higher positions during office hours and attending coaching classes have disrupted service delivery,” Regmi added. “Such tendencies have been preventing government offices from fully utilizing employee knowledge, resulting in a lack of experience and maturity in decision-making.”
The PSC has suggested allowing only one union for civil servants, with participation limited to employees up to the sixth level only.
To ensure institutional memory and effective performance, the PSC has recommended a minimum tenure of one year for secretaries, two years for joint secretaries, three years for under-secretaries, four years for section officers, and five years for other staff in the same ministry or department.
It has also suggested removing the provision allowing two secretaries in the same ministry. Likewise, the PSC has recommended a special promotion system one month before retirement for employees who have served 15 years in the same grade or 10 years in the same level.
(Translate from RSS)
