Roshan Sedhai

As Gulf countries and Malaysia are teeming with around 2.5 million Nepali migrant workers, only 28 government staffers are currently posted in Nepali missions in these countries. And the result is there for all to see. Problems galore for Nepalis working in these countries.

The grossly understaffed Nepali missions, overseen by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MoFA), have failed to provide proper services to the Nepali citizens in the countries.

The mission in Saudi Arabia has seven staffers, led by Ambassador Udaya Raj Pandey. The mission in the UAE is led by Ambassador Dhananjaya Jha and has six staffers, while the one in Qatar is led by Ambassador Maya Kumari Sharma and has five staffers, to which one more is being added soon. The mission in Kuwait, led by Ambassador Madhuban Poudel and the mission in Malaysia, led by Ambassador Lekh Nath Bhattarai, also have only five staffers.

Apart from officials assigned by the MoFA, the embassies receive a few representatives from the Ministry of Labour and some local staffers are also hired. The missions further oversee other neighbouring countries that have a significant presence of Nepali workers.

MoFA officials said inadequate manpower has affected services in these countries. According to them, “one building and a handful of staff” in one country cannot look after the needs of such a large number of workers.

Assistant MoFA Spokesperson Durga Bahadur Subedi said the ministry is planning to conduct a survey to assess the problem. The study will find out which embassies are understaffed and which ones have manpower in excess. “Personnel in embassies that have a surplus will be transferred to mission with less number of staffers,” Subedi said.    

Chairman of Nepal Association of Foreign Employment Bal Bahadur Tamang said the understaffed Nepali missions are facing acute problems when it comes to providing day-to-day services.

“Without adequate manpower, workers are forced to wait for longer hours for services like translation of documents, passport renewal, recommendation letters and company verification. Services that should actually take a few hours are taking almost three days,” Tamang said.

Nepali Ambassador to Saudi Arabia Udaya Raj Pandey admitted that his office requires additional manpower, but denied claims that it was creating problems in the delivery of services. “If the government adds two locals and two non-gazetted officers, things will be easier, but more than the staff, physical resources like vehicles are our immediate need,” Pandey said. The mission in Saudi Arabia also oversees other Gulf countries like Oman, Yemen, Sudan and Jordan.   

Director of the Department of Foreign Employment (DoFE) Lal Babu Kawari said most of the understaffed embassies have failed to perform well.

 “In big countries like Saudi Arabia, the embassy recommends companies without further inquiry. The government should post at least one personnel for every 20,000 workers to ensure their safety and wellbeing,” Kawari said.                

Government estimates show that there are approximately 2.5 million Nepalis working in the countries in question. Around 90 percent of these Nepalis are working in Qatar, Malaysia, Saudi Arabia, the UAE and Kuwait. However, conflicting records say the number of workers could be as high as three million.

Published on: 26 June 2012 | The Kathmandu Post