Nepal, ILO to jointly implement ‘employment for peace building’ project

The Government of Nepal and the International Labour Organization (ILO) Thursday signed an agreement on implementation of "Employment for Peace Building through Local Economic Development" project (EmPLED), to be launched in Dhanusha and Ramechhap districts.

The Rs 194.7million project funded by the Netherlands targets employment generation in the two districts, the ILO office in Kathmandu said. Youth, women and disadvantaged and marginalised groups are the target beneficiaries of the three-year project.

Driven by stakeholder-owned local economic development (LED) forums and strategies, the project will now be launched in the two Districts under the guidance of a national stakeholders’ steering committee, a body with broad representation including the National Planning Commission (NPC), Ministry of Local Development (MoLD), Department of Local Infrastructure Development and Agricultural Roads (DoLIDAR), trade unions, employers, Council for Technical Education and Vocational Training (CTEVT ) and others.

EmPLED will also explore the identification and demonstration of appropriate social protection schemes for needy households.

ILO Country Director Shengjie Li expressed confidence that the LED could greatly enhance the decentralised planning and budgeting process at the District and VDC levels. nepalnews.com mk Aug 09 07