Kathmandu, July 24: Prime Minister Balendra Shah, popularly known as Balen, has appointed 27 members to his personal secretariat, according to a written response provided to Nepali Congress lawmaker Sita Thapaliya ‘Urmila’.
Thapaliya had sought details in the House of Representatives regarding the number of appointments and the facilities provided to members of the Prime Minister’s secretariat. In response, Secretary Pushkar Sapkota said the Prime Minister’s personal secretariat has an approved strength of 48 positions, of which 27 have been filled.
The response states that two advisers, the Chief Adviser and the Political Adviser, have been appointed with benefits equivalent to those of a Government of Nepal minister. Two more advisers, the Adviser on Policy, Administration and Good Governance and the Adviser on Information and Communication Technology, receive benefits equivalent to those of a state minister.
In addition, one unpaid Health Adviser has also been appointed.
Secretary Sapkota said all appointments have been made in accordance with the Prime Minister’s Advisers and Secretariat Management Procedure, 2017.
The written response also outlines provisions governing advisers to ministers. Under existing rules, the ministers for Energy, Water Resources and Irrigation, Infrastructure Development, and Agriculture, Forest and Environment may appoint up to five advisers, including one paid adviser with benefits equivalent to a special class government official.
Ministers of other ministries may appoint up to three advisers, including one paid adviser with equivalent special class benefits.
The response also details the staffing structure of ministers’ personal secretariats. According to the provisions, the personal secretariats of deputy prime ministers, ministers, and state ministers each have nine approved positions.
Regarding benefits, deputy prime ministers are entitled to appoint a Chief Personal Secretary with benefits equivalent to a First Class Gazetted Officer, while ministers and state ministers may appoint a Chief Personal Secretary with benefits equivalent to a Second Class Gazetted Officer.
Each ministerial secretariat is also entitled to one Personal Secretary equivalent to a Third Class Gazetted Officer, one Coordination, Implementation and Monitoring Officer of the same rank, one Communication and Public Relations Assistant equivalent to a First Class Non Gazetted Officer, one assistant level staff member, and two drivers and two office assistants in unclassified positions.
According to Secretary Sapkota, all appointed officials receive pay and benefits in line with the legal provisions applicable to the corresponding government service grades.
People’s News Monitoring Service
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