Kathmandu. At present, the country has proved weak in money laundering and corruption prevention and is in the grey list. There have been voices that the country has been placed on the grey list due to the large amount of money being transacted in the appointment of leaders, money laundering and investing in other countries and black marketing.
At the same time, the central bank i.e. Nepal Rastra Bank, which takes responsibility for the country’s treasury, is leaderless. Although the governor has been vacant for a month, the government has not been able to appoint it.
The government has repeatedly put forward various people for the governor’s post. There are reports that interest groups and business middlemen are dominating the governor’s appointment. Many believe that the government is also negotiating the appointment of governors for commercial gains.
Although serious questions have been raised from within the ruling party, the government has not been able to answer. Many believe that transactions are the main reason behind this. Rastriya Swatantra Party (RSSP) vice-president and lawmaker Swarnim Wagle accused the government of delaying the process of appointing the governor of the Rastra Bank for a long time. Discussing the policies and programmes for the upcoming fiscal year in the meeting, Wagle said the government takes decisions in ‘settings’ and has done the same in appointing governors. Wagle said, “The process of appointing the governor of a small rastra bank has been stuck for two months.” ’
Wagle claimed that the chances of the recommendation committee selecting an independently qualified person were very low. Another Nepali Congress lawmaker objected to the extension of the governor’s appointment process to bolster Wagle’s suspicions. While the Congress is a part of the government.
Nepali Congress lawmaker Dig Bahadur Limbu also sought an answer on the delay in the appointment of the governor. “The next year’s budget is being prepared. At such a crucial time, the governor of the Rastra Bank is not being appointed. It is becoming a matter of concern everywhere,” he said.
Limbu questioned why the governor was not being appointed in the Rastra Bank, which formulates the monetary policy. He said that there is concern everywhere about this. “It may be mine, yours, someone’s, but we have to give leadership as soon as possible,” he said.
This is a question raised by lawmakers on Tuesday. Nepali Congress general secretaries Gagan Thapa and Bishwa Prakash Sharma had openly expressed dissatisfaction over the delay in the appointment of the governor.
The country has already entered the budget making process. In this situation, the leadership of the Rastra Bank should make important suggestions for the budget. However, there is no leadership in this body to give suggestions.
Neelam Dhungana Timsina is the acting governor, but she cannot fully work. On top of this, she herself is an aspirant for the governor’s post, so she has stopped the policy work to be done by the central bank. She has not accepted the resignation of Executive Directors Prakash Kumar Shrestha and Gunakar Bhatta.
In such a situation, experts have criticized the government for remaining a mute spectator. The delay in the appointment of the central bank governor has also raised doubts among the public.
The governor’s post has been lying vacant since March 24. Since then, not much policy work has been done by the central bank. Meanwhile, the government is waiting for Neelam’s resignation to be approved to make Gunakar Bhatta governor. But Neelam has not listened to the government. His only insistence is to make himself governor. There is talk that Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli is also strengthening it. Neelam has also agreed to go to any extent to become governor.
According to some, Dhungana is going to become governor as per the wishes of various business middlemen. However, it has not been decided whether the government will be under the influence of transactions or make a qualified person governor. With Gunakar Bhatta more likely to become the governor, it seems that the governor will now be determined by whose names the recommendation committee will recommend. However, experts say that the appointment of the governor will be extended for a few more days.
