The Department of Foreign Employment (DoFE) received a green signal from the Rent Committee on Thursday to set up its Malaysia Section under Kathmandu Office in Babarmahal. The Malaysia Section will be located in the same building that currently houses the Law Book Management Board.

 

It is hoped that the move will minimise the crowd at DoFE by around one-third. Before the appointment of the new director general (DG) Krishna Hari Pushkar, more than 3,000 people used to visit the department on average daily, of which more than 1,000 comprised of job aspirants to Malaysia.

 

“The IT Section at DoFE today held a meeting which emphasised on the need for a well developed online working system to facilitate communication between the department and the section,” said spokesperson at DoFE Badri Karki, adding that a separate unit to handle the issues of Malaysia job-seekers would reduce the crowd at the department while both manpower agencies and individuals would be able to avail prompt services.

 

Moreover, the meeting today also discussed on the possibilities of extending banking facility. Currently, there is only one branch of Everest Bank on the premises of the department, where all foreign job aspirants and manpower agencies deposit Rs 1,000 per person. The amount goes to the welfare fund of the foreign job migrants. It has been decided that in the coming weeks, foreign job seekers and manpower agents will be able to make deposits from any branch of Everest Bank.

 

Furthermore, in light of the growing number of complaints lodged against institutions that provide orientation and insurance firms, the department also plans to set up an online system to monitor these institutions, informed Karki.

 

Similarly, beginning February 22, the manpower agencies will be required to submit a hard copy and soft copy (CD) of pre-approval file through the post office. The department will retain the CD as a record and return the file to the agencies. However, manpower agencies are not too happy with the decision stating that submitting the file through post will lengthen the work process by at least 24 hours.

 

On the other hand, Karki said that through this process, the department is minimising the crowd and is providing an easy working environment to its employees. It is also expected to minimise human contact, which in turn will lead to less corruption. 

 

Karki also added that employees will have to finish the designated job within the prescribed deadline if papers submitted by agencies are proper. However, in case of irregularities, it will be sent back to the agencies via post.

 

According to Karki, “The Rent Committee will soon be finalising the building for Saudi Arabia and Qatar Sections too.”