Kathmandu. Nepal Insurance Authority, which has the important responsibility of regulating the entire insurance sector, is in trouble due to unnecessary interference by the government. In the last one year, the NRA has got four chairpersons including Surya Prasad Silwal, Sharad Ojha, Madan Kumar Dahal and Sewantak Pokharel.
The Commission for the Investigation of Abuse of Authority (CIAA) filed a corruption case against Silwal at the Special Court with less than two months left for him to complete his term. The Special Court acquitted Silwal in a speedy hearing, but by then his term had already ended.
In the case of Silwal’s acquittal by the Special Court, the CIAA must have been influenced by the Special Court to have wrongly filed a serious case of corruption against him or the Special Court should have given a verdict in his favor despite having strong evidence against him. One of these two is certainly true.
By the time Silwal was cleared, his term had expired. However, he received the salary and Dashain allowance that was withheld by the NRA after his suspension.
Lately, Sharad Ojha has been trying to reinstate his post on the basis of a court order despite his disqualification. He appeared at the NRA office on Wednesday afternoon with a temporary order from the Supreme Court against the government’s removal from his post on August 2. However, on Thursday, the Ministry of Finance had to issue a letter to the NRA not to present him.
The Supreme Court did not consider it appropriate to issue an interim order on a writ petition filed at the apex court claiming that Sharad Ojha was appointed to the post of chairman on the basis of fake documents despite not meeting the qualifications stipulated by the Insurance Act-2079 BS. The hearing was scheduled for November 1 without the Dashain and Tihar festivals. By then, Dashain and Tihar will be over.
Ojha was suspended from July 30 after the government decided to form a probe committee against him. On August 2, the Council of Ministers dismissed him citing lack of qualifications and lack of work experience.
Ojha had filed a writ petition at the Supreme Court challenging the decision of the Council of Ministers to dismiss him. Ojha is trying to reinstate the post of president with the same order.
Although the ‘Gen G’ movement has destroyed most of the documents and evidence of the Supreme Court, he has managed to get a copy of the short order from the Supreme Court on September 31.
Considering all these developments, the issue of making the Nepal Insurance Authority a strong autonomous body for effective regulation of the insurance sector has not been a priority of either the government nor the judiciary.
Two parallel employees unions of the Insurance Authority, Nepal Insurance Authority Employees Union and Nepal Insurance Authority Employees Union have jointly drawn the attention of the Ministry of Finance to end the dispute over the appointment of the chairperson at the earliest.
Stating that there has been frustration among the employees and all the stakeholders in the insurance sector regarding the appointment of the chairperson, the chairpersons of both the organizations have said that there has been a rift in the appointment of the chairman for the past one year despite the clear provision in the Insurance Act regarding the qualifications, appointment and tenure of the chairperson.
