KATHMANDU, Nov 6: House of Representatives (HoR) member Rana Kumari Balampaki Magar is not happy over a sluggish progress in regard with the enactments of laws in the House. "We continue to face criticism for not 'giving' much priority to our legislative duties," she said while talking to the RSS under its regular series the 'RSS with the Lawmaker'.
However, she insisted that the government is the authorized body to allocate sufficient business to the House. "It's not solely the lawmakers' responsibility to expedite procedures and formulate necessary laws."
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According to the CPN-UML member in the lower house, the distribution of seats among political parties in the House and the need to maintain a triangular power balance have posed challenges to stable politics. Priorities of political parties to gain and maintain power have often overshadowed important issues such as the prevention of corruption, price hikes, and irregularities.
She believes that as lawmakers, their primary responsibility is to contribute to the formulation of laws and ensure the smooth progress of parliamentary proceedings. "As legislators we are not supposed to create a situation affecting the parliamentary proceedings including the progress in regard with a bill due to lack of a quorum." She added that each lawmaker should be much cautious of the given roles and responsibilities.
Magar, who was born in Okhaldhunga and later moved to Sindhuli, admits that people expect their representatives to facilitate community development, based on the commitments made during election campaigns. She took time to say that none of the projects she proposed were included in the budget, possibly because she did not actively pursue them with government ministries.
Accurate information about society and the contemporary world, thorough preparations, strong performance, and meaningful experiences working with people can create opportunities for anyone, according to Magar who says "As a woman, she has so far faced no significant gender-based discrimination within her party."
She believes that misunderstandings among political parties can hinder the nation's development efforts and emphasizes the importance of understanding their roles and responsibilities as lawmakers. She underscores the need for professionalism in their legislative performance.
In her evaluation, the existing electoral procedures are costly and they pose challenges for combating corruption and promoting good governance. She is of the view of discontinuing the practices of mass meetings and unnecessary events during election campaigns and transitioning to a digitalized election campaign to reduce costs. She advocates for reforms in the electoral system.
Magar is also concerned over limited opportunities for vocational and applied education at home that has,as she said, forced many to seek career opportunities abroad. "The government is expected to promote agriculture to retain the youth workforce within the country, discouraging their migration in search of employment." ----
