| 45 |
Are employees protected from recrimination or other negative consequences when reporting corruption (i.e. whistle-blowing)? |
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45a:
In law, civil servants who report cases of corruption, graft, abuse of power, or abuse of resources are protected from recrimination or other negative consequences.
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YES |
NO |
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Comments: The law has a provision for the protection of informers (Section 56). This provision, however, is largely confined only to the breach of secrecy. There is no specific law that protects whistleblowers in Nepal.
The existing Act makes some provision for information disclosure, but the provisions in the Act are meant more to discourage false reporting rather than encourage and protect accurate reporting. Section 49 of the Act makes provision for imposing a fine not exceeding 5,000 rupees (US$79) for anyone filing false or wrong complaints with an intention to cause losses, damage or harassment. Section 58 makes provisions for distributing rewards but it is not specific in terms of amounts to be awarded to the whistleblower. The investigating authority can reward anybody for assisting in the process of investigation.
Over the years, an NGO called Pro-Public is advocating for whistleblower protection in Nepal. A Bill has been drafted for lobbying purpose. However, the Bill is yet to see the light of the day. The proposed Bill speaks of rewarding the whistleblower with up to 100,000 rupees (US$1,587) for accurate information, and punishing a whistleblower with up to 50,000 rupees (US$793) for fake reporting. Apart from the rewards and punishments, the Bill also contains a number of provisions related to the process of making complaints and providing due protection to whistleblowers.
References: Corruption Control Act 2002
Peer Review Comments: Recently the legislature passed the Governance Act, which somehow protects whistle-blowers.
Peer Review Comments: In the Corruption Control Act (2002), there is a provision to protect the informers. However, it is not found in practice. Those informers are punished by corrupt, high-ranking officials. Therefore, nobody wants to take such a risk.
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45b:
In practice, civil servants who report cases of corruption, graft, abuse of power, or abuse of resources are protected from recrimination or other negative consequences.
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100 |
75 |
50 |
25 |
0 |
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Comments: This is not applicable in tNepal because the existing legal measures don't offer real protection. As the nexus between political players and government officials is deeply entrenched in Nepal, whistleblower protection becomes much more difficult in the absence of a specific law.
References: Corruption Control Act 2002
Peer Review Comments: Corruption cases are rarely heard. All are silent because there is no guarantee for security and protection, and there is a problem of supremacy of law.
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45c:
In law, private sector employees who report cases of corruption, graft, abuse of power, or abuse of resources are protected from recrimination or other negative consequences.
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| Score: |
YES |
NO |
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Comments: There is no specific law on whistleblower protection in Nepal.
References: Corruption Control Act 2002
Peer Review Comments: Governance of the private sector is not realized or addressed by anyone.
Peer Review Comments: The law is very silent, although it speaks for government officials. Therefore, the law is incomplete.
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45d:
In practice, private sector employees who report cases of corruption, graft, abuse of power, or abuse of resources are protected from recrimination or other negative consequences.
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100 |
75 |
50 |
25 |
0 |
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Comments: Had this been the case, the majority of complaints registered with the CIAA would not have been anonymous.
References: Commission for the Investigation of Abuse of Authority (CIAA) Reports
Peer Review Comments: People don't want to give their names while registering complaints about corruption, graft or abuse of power for security reasons.
Peer Review Comments: In practice, private sector employees can't imagine reporting on cases of corruption, graft, abuse of power, or abuse of resources. The private sector means privately owned property in Nepal. They contest there is no development of the private sector, even though the private sector is emerging.
Peer Review Comments: In pracitce, private sector employees have reported such cases to high-ranking officials. Otherwise, they file a complaint application in CIAA and the National Vigilance Center. These institutions are dysfunctional with political interference. Therefore, such complaint applications do not have proper process and action.
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| 46 |
In law, is there an internal mechanism (i.e. phone hotline, e-mail address, local office) through which civil servants can report corruption? |
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46:
In law, is there an internal mechanism (i.e. phone hotline, e-mail address, local office) through which civil servants can report corruption?
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| Score: |
YES |
NO |
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Comments: The Commission for the Investigation of Abuse of Authority (CIAA), a constitutional body, has been monitoring corruption complaints for public sector corruption.
References: The Interim Constitution of Nepal 2007, Chapter 11 (Article 119-121)
Peer Review Comments: A phone, hotline, or complaint box is available, but it isn't for the civil service in particular. These kinds of tools are open to all.
Peer Review Comments: Of course there are such facilities in the CIAA and National Vigilance Center for reporting about corruption in the law.
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| 47 |
In practice, is the internal mechanism (i.e. phone hotline, e-mail address, local office) through which civil servants can report corruption effective? |
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47a:
In practice, the internal reporting mechanism for public sector corruption has a professional, full-time staff.
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100 |
75 |
50 |
25 |
0 |
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Comments: The Commission for the Investigation of Abuse of Authority (CIAA) is mandated to investigate matters relating to corruption. However, its ability to fulfill the basic mandate is largely limited because it is centralized in the capital and lacks offices and adequate staff at local levels. Besides, major chunks of staff are taken from the government machinery. As these personnel possess different backgrounds, they may not have the adequate professional capacity to discharge the obligation.
References: www.akhtiyar.org.np
Peer Review Comments: There is a full-time and professional staff for the CIAA and National Vigilance Center. They have relevant qualifications. They have responsibilities and authority. The issue is political interference and ineffective supremacy of law.
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47b:
In practice, the internal reporting mechanism for public sector corruption receives regular funding.
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100 |
75 |
50 |
25 |
0 |
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Comments: The Commission for the Investigation of Abuse of Authority (CIAA) receives yearly funding from the government. However, the government's budget is largely dependent on foreign aid, which may not be consistent. Besides, the state's priorities have changed in recent times, especially after the peace agreement, hence the momentum gained in the previous years appears as slacked so far as the anti-corruption drive in Nepal is concerned. One such pertinent example is that the government has not yet appointed the new chief commissioner in the CIAA even though a long time has elapsed since the post became vacant.
References: News reports
Peer Review Comments: Although the internal reporting mechanism for public sector corruption receives regular funding from the government, the concerned body (CIAA) always complains that the fund is insufficient.
Peer Review Comments: The CIAA and National Vigilance Center are two major institutions concerning corruption cases. For their function, the government provides regular funding. They depend on foreign aid, which may not be regular. Its irregularities have disturbed the operation of the anti-corruption movement.
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47c:
In practice, the internal reporting mechanism for public sector corruption acts on complaints within a reasonable time period.
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| Score: |
100 |
75 |
50 |
25 |
0 |
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Comments: Although the Offices of the Chief District Officer (CDO) are mandated to collect the complaints, it takes more than one month for the complaints to officially be registered with the Commission for the Investigation of Abuse of Authority (CIAA). Because of the centralized system, the investigation also takes time.
References: www.akhtiyar.org.np
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47d:
In practice, when necessary, the internal reporting mechanism for public sector corruption initiates investigations.
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| Score: |
100 |
75 |
50 |
25 |
0 |
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Comments: Upon receiving complaints, the Commission for the Investigation of Abuse of Authority (CIAA) usually starts investigating. However, the investigation may be slow and limited due to a number of reasons, including resource constraints. Moreover, as the past trend suggests, CIAA may be reluctant to initiate an investigation against a senior politician or an influential member in the cabinet.
References: Commission for the Investigation of Abuse of Authority (CIAA) Act 1991
Peer Review Comments: Such investigations are less institutional and depend more on the personal courage, conviction, and willingness of the chief commissioner and other commissioners of the Commission for the Investigation of Abuse of Authority.
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