Kathmandu. The issue of appointing governors has become complicated in recent times. In a situation where the ruling coalition parties CPN-UML and Nepali Congress are unable to agree on the governor’s share, middlemen are dominating the election for the governor.
While middlemen can maintain leadership in regulatory bodies like the Nepal Securities Board and the Nepal Insurance Authority, middlemen are also looking for their share in the ‘heavy bet’ post like the governor. Recently, Maha Prasad Adhikari himself has wanted to repeat as governor, while deputy governors Neelam Dhungana and Bam Bahadur Mishra are natural contenders for the governor’s post. Apart from this, some bankers and former journalists, including former CEO of the Investment Board Sushil Bhatta, are also in the race for the governor.
Meanwhile, there has been a dispute between the Congress and the UML over who will be the governor. A high-level leader said that there has been growing dissatisfaction in the top leadership regarding this issue. Middlemen are dominating the post of governor. Due to which it is said that the parties in the government are having trouble settling the issue of who will be the governor. The issue of middlemen dominating the appointment of governor has become a hot topic. This issue has even entered the parliament.
Rasty Swatantra Party MP Manish Jha challenged the government to appoint the governor of Nepal Rastra Bank against the wishes of the middlemen. During the principled discussion on the Economic Procedures and Fiscal Responsibility First Amendment Bill in the House of Representatives on Sunday, he challenged the government to appoint a governor from outside by showing the name given by the middlemen.
Accusing the government of appointing chairmen to the Securities and Exchange Board of Nepal and the Insurance Authority on the recommendation of middlemen, he said that manipulation has now begun in the appointment of governors. He claimed that the government is waiting for the names of which middlemen will pay how much. ‘We have already looked at the appointment of the Securities and Exchange Board. We have already looked at the names of which middlemen. We have also recently looked at the appointment of the Insurance Authority. I challenge you, the name of the governor is not going to come from open competition,’ Jha said. ‘Preparations are being made to see which middlemen will pay how much money and whose name they will send. We have started considering names.’
Questions have started to arise not only from Jha but also from within the UML and the Congress regarding the appointment of the governor. They believe that businessman Deepak Bhatta, in particular, has worked hard to make a person of his choice the governor. The government has appointed former governor Vijayanath Bhattarai and economist Dr. A recommendation committee has been formed including Bishwa Poudel.
Rashtra Bank directors Chintamani Shiwakoti and Rabindra Pandey, current members of the Planning Commission, Executive Director of the Rastra Bank Prakash Kumar Shrestha and another Executive Director Dr. Gunakar Bhatta, Chief Executive Officer of the Deposit and Credit Guarantee Fund Ramesh Kumar Ghimire, Chief Executive Officer of Nabil Bank Gyanendra Dhungana, President of the Nepal Bankers Association and Chief Executive Officer of Machhapuchhre Bank Santosh Koirala, Chief Executive Officer of Prabhu Bank Ashok Sherchan, among others, are currently in the race for the governor position. Adhikari, who became governor on Chaitra 24, 2076, will end his five-year term on Chaitra 24.
