Nepal, Adhikari, Kafle on shortlist

The three-member Governor Recommendation Committee has picked three names—economist Chiranjeevi Nepal and two Nepal Rastra Bank Deputy Governors Gopal Kafle and Maha Prasad Adhikari for the post of governor at the Nepal Rastra Bank.

The committee headed by Finance Minister Ram Sharan Mahat on Wednesday submitted the names to the Cabinet, which is expected to select one of them as head of the central bank at its meeting on Thursday. Economist Parthibheshwor Timilsina and former governor Himalaya Sumsher Rana are other members on the committee.

Nepal is currently serving as economic advisor to Prime Minister. Before taking up the current job, he had served as chief economic advisor at the Finance Ministry in the Khil Raj Regmi-led government.

PhD in economics, Nepal has been involved in teaching at universities for the last 28 years. He has experience of heading another regulatory body—Securities Board of Nepal and is credited for bringing reforms in the stock market. 

An outspoken supporter of free market economy while discarding cooperative sector, he had courted criticism from the left parties when he was chief economic advisor at the Finance Ministry.

Kafle has been working as senior deputy governor at the NRB since December 26, 2010. He has been overseeing monetary policy, research, foreign exchange and public debt department at the bank.

He entered the NRB on October 10, 1982 as a third-class officer and he worked at different departments, including regulation, supervision, micro-finance, training centre and public debt management before being elevated to the current position. 

The liquidation of Nepal Development Bank was among the NRB decisions taken under his watch as chief of the Financial Institution Supervision Department of NRB. As a deputy governor, he played a key role in opening the doors for NRB to invest on Chinese securities. 

Holder of Master’s degrees in Economics from Tribhuvan University and the University of New England in Australia, Kafle is soft-spoken and friendly but lacks boldness, according NRB officials.

Another candidate Adhikari currently oversees the department that regulates and supervises the banks and financial institutions. NRB officials say Adhikari has a sound knowledge about the financial sector. 

He has worked closely with the incumbent governor Yubaraj Khatiwada in implementing reform measures and also played a role in bailing out Nepal from possible blacklist by Financial Action Task Force in money-laundering case. 

Adhikari had joined the bank as an assistant-level employee in 1985. He headed the Nepal Bangladesh Bank management when the central bank took over the commercial bank’s reigns in 2006.

Publication house owned by Sajha MD caught printing textbooks illegally

A private publication house owned by Dolindra Prasad Sharma , managing director of the state owned Sajha Publication, has been found illegally publishing textbooks for grades six and seven. 

A monitoring team from the Department of Education (DoE), raided the Oxford Publication House at Anamnagar on Tuesday and seized hundreds of units of textbooks that were unlawfully printed. It was the second instance in a week where a private publisher was caught printing textbooks meant for public schools without the approval from concerned authority. On March 11, the DoE had raided the Chhauni-based Mission Publication Pvt Ltd and recovered thousands of units of illegally printed textbooks for the same grades.

 The government has allowed only 21 private publishers to pring 18 million units of textbooks from grade one up to grade five while  Janak Sikshya Samagri Kendra (JSSK) has the sole right to print the textbooks for grade six and above. 

The Central Level Textbooks Monitoring Committee, led by Dilli Rimal, has recommended the Curriculum Development Centre (CDC) to initiate action against Oxford Publications House as well as Mission Publications Pvt Ltd.

CDC Director Diwakar Dhungel, who is also the chairman of Sajha, vowed to book the two companies based on the existing legal provision.

The two publication houses could be blacklisted if they fail to furnish credible explanation, Dhungel said. Once the two companies have been blacklisted, he added, their cases would be forwarded to the District Administration Office.

After the publishing house owned by the managing director of Sajha himself was caught printing the school level textbooks illegally, Education Minister Chitra Lekha Yadav has come under fire for choice of nominee.

Minister Yadav had appointed Sharma the managing director of Sajha three months ago, despite protest from the employees of the government owned publication.

Meanwhile, Sharma has claimed that the textbooks found by the monitoring team from his publication were stock from last year.

 "Oxford has not published any new textbooks. I had already written to the DoE, explaining that we have over 5,000 textbooks in the stock. I will explain all these things with proof when I submit the clarification," he said.

Youths demand transparency in migrant workers' fund

Responding to various news reports regarding rampant misuse of Migrant Worker’s Welfare Fund, various youth associations have demanded clarification on the matter from Foreign Employment Promotion Board (FEPB).

The Association of Youth Organisations Nepal (AYON) and the Youth Connection Centre submitted a written request to Nirmala Thapa, director at the FEPB Secretariat, on Wednesday seeking details of expenses from the Fund.

The move was followed by youth activists’ demonstrations in front of the FEPB Secretariat in Anamnagar demanding transparency regarding expenses from the Fund.

News reports in various national dailies claimed that about Rs 3 million from the Fund meant for the benefits of outbound migrant workers was spent on purchasing cars for Nepali ambassadors, arranging foreign trips for Labour Ministry officials and office decorations.

Receiving the written request from AYON President Brabim Kumar KC, Thapa said the expenses were normal. “The cars for embassies were essential and will be used in the context of welfare for migrant workers,” she said. Regarding foreign trips of officials, Thapa said they have to go to the destination countries to understand workers’ conditions.

According to the Foreign Employment Act, 2007, Rs 1,000 deposited by every outbound migrant worker to the Fund shall be used for “training of migrant workers, providing education and health services to their children, paying compensation to the injured and deceased workers and evacuating them during crises.”

In the case of the fund used for decorating the office of FEPB Chairman and State Minister for Labour Tek Bahadur Gurung, Thapa said “only” Rs 82,000 was spent for the purpose and it “should not create much fuss”.

Prakash Chandra Adhikari, a student, said the misuse of the workers’ fund should be treated as corruption.

KC said the demonstration was a symbolic campaign carried out on behalf of millions of youths currently working abroad. “Every day, five bodies arrive in Nepal and about 20 youths return with injuries or disease, which do not bother authorities," he said, adding, "Instead, they misuse the fund without shame.”

Publication house owned by Sajha MD caught printing textbooks illegally

A private publication house owned by Dolindra Prasad Sharma , managing director of the state owned Sajha Publication, has been found illegally publishing textbooks for grades six and seven.

A monitoring team from the Department of Education (DoE), raided the Oxford Publication House at Anamnagar on Tuesday and seized hundreds of units of textbooks that were unlawfully printed. It was the second instance in a week where a private publisher was caught printing textbooks meant for public schools without the approval from concerned authority. On March 11, the DoE had raided the Chhauni-based Mission Publication Pvt Ltd and recovered thousands of units of illegally printed textbooks for the same grades.

 The government has allowed only 21 private publishers to pring 18 million units of textbooks from grade one up to grade five while  Janak Sikshya Samagri Kendra (JSSK) has the sole right to print the textbooks for grade six and above.

The Central Level Textbooks Monitoring Committee, led by Dilli Rimal, has recommended the Curriculum Development Centre (CDC) to initiate action against Oxford Publications House as well as Mission Publications Pvt Ltd.

CDC Director Diwakar Dhungel, who is also the chairman of Sajha, vowed to book the two companies based on the existing legal provision.

The two publication houses could be blacklisted if they fail to furnish credible explanation, Dhungel said. Once the two companies have been blacklisted, he added, their cases would be forwarded to the District Administration Office.

After the publishing house owned by the managing director of Sajha himself was caught printing the school level textbooks illegally, Education Minister Chitra Lekha Yadav has come under fire for choice of nominee.

Minister Yadav had appointed Sharma the managing director of Sajha three months ago, despite protest from the employees of the government owned publication.

Meanwhile, Sharma has claimed that the textbooks found by the monitoring team from his publication were stock from last year.

 "Oxford has not published any new textbooks. I had already written to the DoE, explaining that we have over 5,000 textbooks in the stock. I will explain all these things with proof when I submit the clarification," he said