Kathmandu, Aug 15: Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli has once again signed annual performance agreements with ministers, repeating last year’s practice. At Thursday’s event in Singha Durbar, held alongside ministry progress reviews, Oli urged ministers and secretaries to take on projects that can bring visible change, boost productivity, and help the country break free from poverty.

He set specific targets, including trial methane gas production in Dailekh by December, promoting buffalo farming for export to China, launching an organic farming drive, regulating social media, building senior citizens’ halls, completing the 10th National Games on time, finishing the Kirtipur cricket stadium, preparing for a large stadium in Bhaktapur, using Nepal’s own orbital slot in space, starting domestic rail and security press operations, expanding railways, speeding up major infrastructure projects like Sunkoshi–Marin, Bheri–Babai, and the Kathmandu–Tarai expressway, promoting yoga and wellness, and conducting staff transfers based on set criteria.

Oli said these were only representative examples, and asked each minister to propose original, milestone-level initiatives. The practice of performance agreements began in his previous term to ensure timely completion of infrastructure and service delivery improvements. But critics say the agreements often turn into ceremonial paperwork, with no follow-up or accountability.

Several recent scandals have also raised doubts. The Home Minister faced allegations over mishandling a “visit visa” case, the General Administration Minister resigned after a bribery audio leak, and the Land Management Minister came under scrutiny in the same case. Law Minister Ajay Chaurasiya was accused of trying to influence judges, drawing questions in Parliament.

Former secretary Govinda Kusum says performance agreements work in countries with strong governance, clear responsibilities, proper infrastructure, and work environments. In Nepal, he argues, there is a culture of avoiding difficult tasks, with no real penalties or incentives, making results unlikely.

He adds that Nepal adopted the concept from developed countries without first building the administrative culture needed for it to succeed. Without minimum working conditions, he says, performance agreements are meaningless.

Former secretary Ganesh Raj Pandey notes the system began a decade ago with senior bureaucrats before extending to ministers. He stresses the need to provide necessary resources, trust, and problem-solving support after signing. He also calls for a monitoring mechanism to track implementation.

Frequent staff transfers and short ministerial tenures, Pandey says, make it hard to produce measurable outcomes within the performance agreement framework.

People’s News Monitoring Service