Call to advance OGP for responsive governance

KATHMANDU, August 30: Various speakers have underlined the need for the country to join the Open Government Partnership (OGP) -- a global movement promoting the values of transparency, accountability, participation and technological innovation. At an interaction program 'Open Government Partnership: Status and Way Forward' organized by the Good Governance Committee of the Legislature-Parliament with support from UNDP, the speakers stressed that the country should reinforce its official commitment to take the agenda of open governance which calls for collaboration between the government and CSOs. Presenting a paper on 'OGP and Role of Parliamentarians', Chief Information Commissioner of the National Information Commission Krishna Hari Baskota said that the Nepal government should not make any delay to brace up the values of OGP to give people effective governance. While delivering paper on 'OGP and Role of CSOs', Freedom Forum Executive Chief and senior journalist Taranath Dahal urged the parliamentarians to push the agenda of broader governance transformation through OGP. Likewise, President of Parliamentary Good Governance and Monitoring Committee Mohan Singh Rathor said the committee would take strides on joining OGP after further discussions within the committee and consultations with experts. UNDP Deputy Country Director Sophie Kemkhadze said as OGP can be a support pillar to leverage strengths for achieving Sustainable Development Goals Nepal can take benefits from the global movement to create sustainable and resilient society. As many as 60 participants including parliamentarians, CSO representatives, media, academia and tech scientists provided their inputs to the theme of open government partnership.