Joint financing of US$100 million for local government

Kathmandu, Oct 11: The European Union (EU), Governments of Switzerland, Norway and the United Kingdom, collectively referred to as the Joint Financing Agreement (JFA) Development Partners have agreed to provide a grant assistance of One Hundred Million US Dollar, equivalent to Eleven Billion Four Thousand Million Nepalese Rupees (NRs 11.4 billion).

According to Ministry of Finance, the project aims strengthen the capacity of provincial and local governments to deliver public service in a more effective and efficient way.

This project will ensure to attain functional, sustainable, inclusive and accountable provincial and local governance by maximizing benefits of cooperative federalism for Nepali citizenry.

The project will conclude in four fiscal years commencing from July 2019/20 and wrapping up in July 2022/23. The Joint Financing Arrangement to this effect was signed and exchanged between the Government of Nepal and JFA Development Partners at the Ministry of Finance, Kathmandu, recently.

Important activities listed under the project are Innovation and Partnership Fund, Local Policy, Strategy, Guidelines, Framework & Institutional Development, Capacity Development Programme (Province and Local Level), and Public Financial Management (PMF) for the implementation of SUTRA and Local PFM.

The project is expected to be a landmark project in incapacitating the sub-national governments by bridging the existing gap among three level of governance system.

The JFA was signed by Dr. Rajan Khanal, Secretary, Ministry of Finance and Matthew John Rycroft, Permanent Secretary, Department for International Development (DFID), Lasse Bjorn Johannessen, Ambassador, Norwegian Embassy in Nepal and Elisabeth Von Capeller, Ambassador, Swiss Embassy in Nepal.

The European Union will sign the JFA in the days to come.