KATHMANDU, Dec 1: The Social Welfare Council (SWC)—tasked with monitoring, regulating and evaluating around 150 INGOs and nearly 58,000 domestic NGOs—has been largely without top leadership since November 18. While only two board positions remain filled, the office is overflowing with contract staff.
By law, the SWC should have 10 board members, including the vice-chairperson, in addition to ex-officio members. Currently, only Vice-Chairperson Nandalal Majhi and board member Sanjay Sah are in place and the crucial executive position of member-secretary remains vacant.
Without authority to call meetings or make decisions, these two are essentially powerless. Meanwhile, nearly five dozen contract employees, recruited at different times, occupy the office.
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The SWC also lacks a departmental minister. By law, the Minister for Women, Children, and Senior Citizens serves as ex-officio chairperson, but Prime Minister Sushila Karki is currently handling the ministry’s responsibilities. Vice-Chair Majhi has been trying to meet the Prime Minister for days without success. “Due to the absence of appointed board members, critical functions—like monitoring and regulating NGOs and INGOs, approving programs in Nepal, and extending visas for INGO representatives—have stalled,” Majhi said. “We have requested the ministry secretary to appoint the board urgently, and we continue trying to meet the Prime Minister.”
Operational bottlenecks began after Member-Secretary Manoj Bhatta’s term expired on November 18. Though the cabinet decided to reappoint him, then-Chief Secretary Eaknarayan Aryal withheld authentication due to disputes surrounding Bhatta, ultimately nullifying the decision.
Out of 170 sanctioned positions, 104 employees are currently working at the SWC—59 on contract and 45 permanent—meaning contract staff outnumber permanent employees. The CIAA has previously warned the SWC against hiring contract workers, yet the trend persists. Many contract staff hold officer-level positions, with some even designated assistant director.
In FY 2024/25, NGOs and INGOs received approval for projects worth nearly Rs 40 billion in Nepal.
By law, all international donor-funded programs must be cleared by the SWC, which is also tasked with their monitoring, evaluation, and regulation. However, with 10 of the 17 board positions—including the executive member-secretary—vacant, the council’s functioning has been severely hampered.
In practice, the SWC has become more of a hub for contract staff than an institution fulfilling its statutory mandate.
