Kathmandu. The new government led by senior leader of the Rastriya Swatantra Party (RSP) Balendra Shah has been reluctant to appoint a deputy governor of the Nepal Rastra Bank.
On March 25, the then Deputy Governor Dr. Neelam Dhungana Timsina and Bam Bahadur Mishra have retired. At the same time, there was talk that the Sushila Karki-led interim government would appoint a deputy governor. The current Finance Minister Dr. The appointment process did not move forward after Swarnim Wagle stopped it.
Many had hoped that a sensitive body like the Rastra Bank would get a deputy governor on time after the formation of the government. It has not been completed yet. During this period, the cabinet meeting has been held several times.
However, the government has not shown any interest in appointing deputies. The previous government did not appoint deputies who are close to their party on a quota basis. Now the RSP is saying that it is difficult to find its cadre in the Rastra Bank.
NRB is a very sensitive sector for the financial sector. In such a sector, the government has taken a long time to make two executive directors from the 18 executive directors of the central bank. The government’s failure to appoint deputies on time has become a topic of discussion in the region. Governor Bishwanath Poudel has been facing a lot of trouble as the government has not appointed a deputy governor for a long time.
He has not been able to go on leave for a day after January 25. The NRB Act has made a provision to give the acting deputy to the governor during the absence of the governor. However, in the absence of a deputy, there is no provision to give the responsibility to the executive director. As a result, the governor is no longer on leave.
In the absence of a deputy, the governor will not be able to attend any important international conferences. In such a situation, the country is not represented.
Since the governor was not a cadre of the central bank, he had to rely on the executive director to make any policy decision. In the hope that the governor will recommend his name to the deputy, the executive makes a former deputy governor who will be affected in the long run by the decision made by the ‘yes’, ‘sir’ tendency rather than giving constructive suggestions on any such file.
“If there were deputy governors, they would have understood the laws, the systemic issues, and if there were any deficiencies or excesses in the file, they would have been left to the deputies,” the former deputy governor said. If the governor does not understand the issue deeply, then the problem may follow. Therefore, he suggested that the government should appoint deputy governors of the central bank on time.
The hearing and regulation committee chaired by the deputy governor has not been held since March 25. The process of taking decisions and action related to banks and financial institutions has been stopped. There are 2 deputy governors on the board of directors of Nepal Rastra Bank. NRB officials say that in the absence of deputies, the meeting of the board of directors cannot be discussed on any specific issue.
The government’s failure to appoint deputies on time has delayed policy-level decision-making and affected administrative works. At present, only the work of the daily office operator is being done in the Rastra Bank.
Similarly, some transfers and promotions that the Rastra Bank is going to do in November have also been stopped. Now, in the absence of a deputy governor, even the normal work has been done by the governor. He has also been said to be troubled at work for some time.
Not only that, the NRB is also included in the 100 agendas related to governance reform approved by the cabinet meeting held on March 26. The central bank has a provision to reduce the risk burden on the credit flow of small and medium enterprises, agriculture and information technology sector to an appropriate level within a day.
Similarly, the Ministry of Finance and Nepal Rastra Bank are also going to issue a concessional and rehabilitation package for the businesses affected during the Gen-G people’s movement.
The NRB has been asked to establish an integrated digital asset database that includes bank accounts, digital wallets, share investments and other financial activities within 100 days, implement a risk-based code system and automatically identify suspicious transactions and carry out investigation process through the bodies concerned. There is a discussion within the Rastra Bank that these works will also be completed on time if the government does not appoint deputies on time.
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