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Doubling the Salaries Of State Employees
By KTM Metro Reporter
June 1, 2011: various associations of the state employees have jointly threatened the Government of Nepal that they would launch a movement if the government does not double their salaries. They want to double the burden of the state employees on the state coffer. It might be all right if they have strong justification for doubling the salaries; obviously they don’t have it.
Now, nobody can get his/her work done at the land registration office without paying certain fees these state employees apply on doing the job. Is it a justification for doubling their salaries? A simple low-level clerk working at the land registration office builds a big house clearing indicating the huge earnings s/he makes charging extra money to the customers. This is the public service delivery at the extra cost to the people that pay taxes for employing these guys obviously for delivering service without problems and without extra payments but in reality customers have the problems of getting services from these guys until service seekers pay extra money to the state employees working for delivering the services. This story repeats at the tax office and other offices that deliver services directly to the citizens.
The state officers that have the authority of certifying the photocopies of official documents are the true ones have started charging fees to the people that seek such services from them. Thus, they have commercialized their authority and selling the authority working at the state offices collecting the regular salaries paid by the taxpayers’ money.
Now, the Nepal Police officers build large buildings the cost of which are beyond the reach of their regular salaries. Where the money has come from? If someone has the case of burglary at home, s/he reports the police. Then some police come to him/her and get the details of the stolen goods and items. These guys are supposed to catch thieves and confiscate the stolen goods and then return these items to the owner but it rarely happens. Rather these guys know the thieves very well and hold them and bargain with the thieves the amount the police should get. Naturally, thieves are very happy to share the stolen goods with the police and get free from the possible jail term.
If we take a look at the higher authorities, these guys make a lot of money from the commissions they receive from the contractors that provide goods and services to the concerned office.
Ministers have been notorious for seeking commissions from the large projects. As a result, most of the large projects the Government of Nepal launches never take off the ground. For example, the Melamchi Drinking Water Project has never taken off the ground.
Are these all justifications for doubling the salaries of the notorious state employees?
