Read Johannes (Hans) Lokollo, Senior Adviser for ILO Nepal from 1996-1999, as he takes you on his journey of turning the impossible into possible.
My mission to Kathmandu A little over 20 years ago from today, I was working for the ILO Office in Bangladesh as the Deputy Director. One day, I was informed that I would be sent to Kathmandu on a six month mission, “to arrange for the closing down of the ILO Office in Kathmandu by the end of December 1996.” It was certainly not a pleasant mission (I called it “Mission Impossible”). When I arrived in Kathmandu, I learnt that ILO was left with only one project that was also winding down soon. Initial efforts I had numerous meetings with the UN Resident Coordinator, key donor representatives including the World Bank Director and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and Asian Development Bank (ADB) Representatives, the ILO’s constituents in order to understand the situation. I soon discovered that the ILO constituents were very supportive and cooperative towards the ILO programmes and activities.
As the dates for the phase out of the programs were fast approaching, I made every effort to sustain and increase our endeavors. After inquiring about the Regular Budget Supplementary Account (RBTC) and how much financial support we could seek from ILO Regional Office for Asia and the Pacific (ROAP) or ILO Geneva, I was more hopeful. Within a short span of time, we launched a country survey on “Factors Affecting Women Entrepreneurship in Small and Cottage Industries in Nepal” and shared some interesting findings with the ILO constituents and media. A number of workshops, training activities and surveys were being conducted by ILO/International Programme on the Elimination of Child Labour (IPEC) simultaneously that captured the interest of many senior government authorities and representatives of ILO constituents in Nepal. Our efforts with the constituents had also allowed the Government of Nepal to ratify ILO Convention 98 on the Right to Organize and Convention 138 on Minimum Age that gave further impetus to our work.
Ms Mitsuko Horiuchi (then Assistant Director-General and Regional Director), Honourable Minister of Labour, Mr Bal Bahadur Rai, Johannes Lokollo, Gagan Rajbhandari (behind the Hon'ble Minister), Jyoti Tuladhar on 24 September 1996 in Kathmandu Final Success There was scope for four to five new projects to be developed for ILO Nepal within the remaining few months that could help justify not closing the Nepal office to the ILO HQ in Geneva. After relentlessly advocating for the office to stay, my joy knew no bounds when I learned that our office would be continued. I was further asked to remain in Nepal to provide guidance and direction to ILO.
The ILO Director-General, Mr Guy Ryder with former Directors; Shengjie Li, Johannes Lokollo and Leyla Tegmo-Reddy (from left) and Richard Howard, current Director, on 13 December 2016 in Kathmandu
“I left ILO Kathmandu for Islamabad as the ILO Director for Pakistan and Afghanistan with a great personal satisfaction, because with the great help of many parties in Nepal and within ILO, we were able to turn my “Mission Impossible” to a “Mission Possible.” I knew ILO Kathmandu would flourish further under my successors." Johannes Lokollo
Of all my international assignments my rather short assignment with the ILO Nepal Office as the Senior Adviser in Kathmandu still carries so many sweet memories to this day.
