Kathmandu. The letter sent by the Ministry of Finance to the Securities Board of Nepal on September 18 has raised questions on the rationale of more than 3 dozen bylaws, directives and working procedures.

On September 18, the Ministry directed the Board to submit the Securities Board Employees Welfare Fund Working Procedure, 2071 and the Securities Board Employees Safety Fund (Operation and Management) Procedures issued against Section 22 of the Securities Act, 2063, Section 15 of the Legislation Act, 2081, Rule 15 of the Government of Nepal (Division of Work) Regulations, 2074 and Regulation 167 of the Securities Board Employees Service and Conditions Regulations, 2068. 2075 was sent a letter to be cancelled immediately.

Following the letter, two employees unions of the Securities Board of Nepal, the Securities Board of Nepal Independent Employees Association and the Securities Board of Nepal Employees Union have been protesting with the support of all employees.

The Securities Board has the Employees Welfare Fund Working Procedure, 2071, the Securities Board of Nepal Employees Protection Fund (Operation and Management) Work Procedure, 2075 and the study related procedure, Foreign Travel Work Procedure, among others.

Stating that the Ministry of Finance can raise questions about its work at any time, can scrap the bylaws, directives and working procedures, they have strongly demanded that SEBON should be made an autonomous body and the letter dated September 18 should be returned.

The employees of the board are apprehensive that the ministry, which directs the government to scrap the existing working procedures, will not scrap the bylaws, directives and other additional procedures prepared by the Board of Directors in the coming days.

Currently, the Board has 8 bylaws, 23 directives and 6 different working procedures. They have been making employees who have difficulty working on the basis of these bylaws, guidelines and procedures.

Ajay Dhungana, president of the Securities Board of Nepal employees’ union, said that the morale of the employees would be weak to work according to the bylaws, directives and working procedures made by the board directors after the letter from the ministry.

“The employees might have taken a decision based on the bylaws, guidelines and working procedures. “In the coming days, the ministry has been seen cutting the letter and making the employees responsible for the decision taken on such and such date,” he said, “In such a situation, how can the employees pick up the file now?” How can they decide? ’

Former president of the union, Raju GC, said that if the board scrapped 2 working procedures, it could not be said that other procedures would not be scrapped in the coming days. “Today, the ministry has scrapped 2 procedures. If the other procedures made by the Board of Directors were also scrapped,” he said, “Now the procedures made by the Board of Directors can also be scrapped.” ’

Now the board has given licenses to securities brokers, IPOs, right bonds, FPOs, mutual funds. He said that such a decision of the board would be revoked if a letter was sent to any employee of the ministry asking them to cancel it. According to him, looking at the activities of the ministry, the employees are not able to work and the autonomy given by the Act has not been maintained. He said that such interference by the ministry could not be tolerated. He said that the employees have not only fought for facilities but also because the decisions taken in the interest of the market will be revoked.

The employees of the Board argue that since the Securities Board of Nepal (SEBON) is not an institution that receives resources from the budget of the Government of Nepal but is an institution run by its own resources, it is not necessary to keep the Board as a separate institution if it needs the ÷approval of the Ministry of Finance in every matter.

The employees of the board have questioned the legality of the letter sent from the ministry on September 2. Clause 113 of the Securities Act, 2063 BS states that the government can issue directives from time to time only on policy matters such as development of capital market and protection of interest of investors.

The employees claim that the decision approved by the Revenue Secretary is not valid as there is a provision that only the Government of Nepal can give directives to the Board. A ministerial decision can be taken as a government decision. However, both the unions of the board claim that the letter from the revenue secretary cannot be considered as a government decision.

The Securities Regulations are to be approved by the Government of Nepal and the Directives and Working Procedures will be approved by the Board of Directors.

Both the unions claim that if such letters are implemented without understanding the whims of the employees of the ministry, then no employee of the board will be able to work with high morale in the coming days. The Ministry of Finance has been claiming that it has created a welfare fund and a security fund without its approval.

On the other hand, the employees of the board have said that the consent of the Ministry of Finance should be taken only for the creation of new posts in the Securities Board and increase in remuneration and allowances as per the Clause 167 of the Employees Service Condition Regulations 2068 BS approved by the government.

Employees claim that the issue of Employees Welfare Fund and Security Fund is not the issue of creation of new posts and remuneration, so the consent of the ministry is not required. The ministry has not sent any further correspondence after sending the letter.

The ministry is on its own and the employees are not agitating. The ministry has clearly indicated that if the contents of the letter are not introduced, other legal doors are open and they should go there.

Before Bhishma Dhungana became the chairman of the board, the welfare fund was only for the employees. According to the board staffers, Dhungana has got the provision of the fund for the chairman to get the facility from the ministry. Yubaraj Khatiwada was the finance minister at that time.

According to the letter sent by the Ministry on September 2, if the work procedure is scrapped, the rights of the board directors will be snatched away. The employees claim that if this decision is approved by the board of directors, the officials will shrink and will not be forced to accept the decision of the director.

The employees of the board have been deducted due to the implementation of the work procedure made by the directors. There is a debate as to why the makers of this procedure have not been questioned.

The 417th meeting of the Board of Directors of the Securities Board of Nepal (SEBON) on October 11, 2014 approved the Employees Welfare Fund Work Procedure, 2071 through Decision No. 1487. Baburam Shrestha was the chairman of the board at that time. Similarly, the board members include Joint Secretary at the Ministry of Finance Ram Sharan Chimoria, Joint Secretary at the Ministry of Law, Justice and Parliamentary Affairs Dilliram Ghimire, Executive Director of Nepal Rastra Bank Min Bahadur Shrestha and Vice President of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nepal Mahesh Khanal.

Likewise, Dinesh Shrestha, vice-president of the Federation of Nepalese Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FNCCI) and Dr Shrestha are the members of the committee. Rewat Bahadur Karki. Likewise, the 553rd meeting of the Board of Directors of SEBON, Employees Protection Fund (Operation and Management) Procedure-2075 BS of the Securities Board of Nepal (SEBON) was approved by Decision No. 1893 on October 12, 2018. At that time, Dr. Vivek Oli was one of the board directors. Rewat Bahadur Karki.

Similarly, Joint Secretary at the Ministry of Finance Harisharan Pudasaini, Joint Secretary at the Ministry of Law, Justice and Parliamentary Affairs Phanindra Gautam, Executive Director of Nepal Rastra Bank Nar Bahadur Thapa

are the members of the committee.

Krishna Prasad Acharya, vice-president of Chartered Accountants of Nepal, was a member of the committee.

Similarly, Vice President of Federation of Nepalese Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FNCCI) Shekhar Golchha and expert member Nil Bahadur Saru Magar were also present on the occasion.