Prakash Dahal: Driving the agenda for government's administrative reform in Nepal

Australia
Awards alumnus Prakash Dahal is one of the key government officials leading the
agenda for administrative reform in Nepal.

Recently
promoted to the position of Joint Secretary at the Ministry of General
Administration, Prakash and his team carry out functional analyses and develop
policies required for the administrative restructuring of the government, as
mandated in the 2015 Constitution of Nepal.

He
and his team have formulated several acts, such as the Civil Servants
Adjustment Act, the Federal Civil Service Act, the Provincial Civil Service Act
and the Local Service Act. They have also played a key role in formulating the
National Policy for Civil Services.

Prior
to joining the Ministry of General Administration, Prakash was a Chief of the
Foreign Aid Coordination Section at the Ministry of Federal and Local
Development (MOFALD).

When
Prakash was taking over this assignment, Nepal was hit by a massive earthquake
and was in dire need of support from the international community.

He
introduced a policy to coordinate the mobilisation of foreign aid, which
allowed all the support that MOFALD received from 19 major development partners
to be channelled through a common fund. He also helped to design a US $200
million housing project to respond to the needs of earthquake survivors.

Growing
up in the rural district of Khotang in the eastern part of Nepal, Prakash
wanted to be a teacher as this was the only profession he knew. However, after
moving to Kathmandu to pursue tertiary education, he changed his dream and
joined the civil service. An avid reader and a diligent professional, he
pursued three Masters degrees at Tribhuwan University­–in English literature,
public administration and political sciences. During his studies, he also
worked for the government of Nepal.

Upon
completing his studies, Prakash wanted to pursue yet another degree that ‘would
blend the theoretical knowledge of the developed country and practical cases of
a developing country’. He thought Australia was an ideal country for this as ‘it
offers world-class education.'

‘I
was inspired by the prestige that Australia Awards has’, he says. ‘There is a
huge pool of Australia Awards alumni in the civil service sector of Nepal who
are in senior positions and their performance is also good’.

As
an Australia Awards recipient, Prakash undertook a Master of Public Policy at
the Australian National University.

He
believes his academic training in Australia has proven to be very useful in his
current role.

‘I
have been using the skills that I gained through the Australia Awards
Scholarship’, he says. ‘The knowledge that I learned around policy making,
policy networking, participatory modalities, policy consultation and dialogue
during my study in Australia are now very useful for me to give my best to the
job that I am currently responsible for’.