UNDP to support Nepal in developing capacity of province and local governments

December 11, 2019

The United Nations Development Programme in Nepal signed a US$ 10 million financing agreement with the Ministry of Federal Affairs and General Administration(MoFAGA) to provide Technical Assistance to the Province and Local Government Support Programme (PLGSP). 

PLGSP is a Government of Nepal (GON) programme jointly financed by GON and four development partners: the United Kingdom, European Union, Norway and Switzerland. Executed by the Ministry since 2019, the Programme focuses on developing capacity of the federal, provincial and local governments under the new federal structure.

As part of the agreement, UNDP will provide technical assistance to PLGSP for the next four years.

UNDP’s Resident Representative Ayshanie Labe and MoFAGA Joint Secretary Jaya Narayan Acharya signed the agreement at the Ministry 11 December 2019. The agreement was signed under a government co-financing model, with over 90% of the budget coming from the Government and the rest from UNDP.

Ramesh Adhikari, Under Secretary, Ministry of Federal Affairs and General Administration, Government of Nepal said with the country getting into federal system following Constitution in 2015, the entire institutions across federal, provincial and local levels have experienced several difficulties in discharging their respective responsibilities in the spirit of federal system. “To address these bottlenecks emanating from lack of experience, the Provincial and Local Governance Support Program (PLGSP) was designed and is spearheaded to support the federal and sub-national governments in shaping up their behaviour for smooth transition, ensuring an effective implementation of the Constitution and thus help them meet the national aspiration of Prosperous Nepal and Happy Nepali. We are glad to have this partnership with UNDP to provide technical assistance for the implementation of the PLGSP,” said Adhikari at the signing of the agreement.