Kathmandu. A meeting of the Council of Ministers held on Monday evening formed a committee to investigate the eligibility of Sharad Ojha as chairman of Nepal Insurance Authority. With this, Ojha has been suspended less than five months after being appointed as the chairman. However, the government has not decided to investigate Radha Kumari Pokharel, who was illegally appointed as an expert woman member in the board of directors of the Insurance Authority.
Although a committee has been formed to investigate Ojha’s eligibility, the government seems to be silent on the issue of Pokharel, who has been illegally appointed as an expert woman member. With Ojha’s suspension, the government has again started demanding an inquiry into Pokharel’s expertise and qualifications.
Finance Minister Bishnu Poudel had appointed Pokharel as an expert woman member of the Insurance Authority with effect from March 15 on the basis of a ministerial-level decision. Although the Ministry has decided to appoint Porkhel as per the provisions of Section 7 of the Insurance Act, 2079 BS, the Act does not give the finance minister the right to appoint. This power is solely vested in the Government of Nepal i.e. the Council of Ministers.
Sub-section 5 of Section 7 of the Insurance Act provides that the ‘Government of Nepal’ shall appoint members referred to in clauses d and e of Sub-section (1) of Section 6 from among the persons having the qualifications referred to in Sub-section (1) of Section 8. There is a provision to appoint at least one woman in such a way.
The Ministry of Finance is a part of the Executive of the Government of Nepal and the Finance Minister is only a government representative, he is not the entire Government of Nepal. Only the decisions taken by the Council of Ministers are acceptable as the decisions of the Government of Nepal. The decisions taken by the ministers are applicable only as ministerial decisions.
There was also a voice on the issue of eligibility in the appointment of Pokharel. If the process of his appointment is challenged in the Supreme Court, then there is every possibility that the Supreme Court will cancel the order.
Finance Minister Poudel is still facing criticism from all quarters for appointing inexperienced Pokharel as the female director of nea. Pokharel has been criticised for not having expertise and experience to be appointed as a female director as per the qualifications prescribed in Sub-section (2) of Section 6 of the Insurance Act.
The board of directors will consist of a person appointed by the government as chairman, joint secretary at the Ministry of Finance, joint secretary at the Ministry of Law, Justice and Parliamentary Affairs as a member, one member from people with special knowledge in the life insurance business and one member from among the people with special knowledge in the non-life insurance business. Sub-section (2) of the same section provides that there should be at least one woman director with special knowledge in the insurance business mentioned in Sub-section (1).
Section 8 of the Insurance Act has provisions regarding the qualifications of the chairperson and members of the AUTHORITY. The candidate should have a master’s degree in insurance, monetary, banking, financial, commerce, management, public administration, statistics, mathematics, economics or law and at least five years of high managerial work experience in the relevant field.
Pokharel was appointed as the director of Bishal Bazaar Company on February 1, 2019, following the decision of Finance Minister Poudel. It’s only been two years since he became a director. Experts say that his work will not be experienced in this way
Joint Secretary at the Ministry of Finance, Sewant Pokharel, has been given the responsibility of the chairman of the AUTHORITY. Ojha will continue to play the role of chairman until the inquiry into his eligibility is finalized.
A case has been filed in the Supreme Court against Ojha for submitting fake qualification certificates for appointment as the chairman of the Insurance Authority. The Commission for the Investigation of Abuse of Authority (CIAA) is also investigating ojha after receiving a complaint in this regard.
