Kathmandu. Questions have been raised about the appointment of the chairman of the Nepal Insurance Authority as envisaged by the Insurance Act.

It is clear in the Act that to become the chairman, five years of experience is required at the top managerial level of the insurance sector.

The government has been sending joint secretaries to the Ministry of Finance when there is no chairman in the NRA.

Joint Secretary Madan Dahal was promoted to the post on April 15, 2017. He became the chairman of the NRA on December 1, 2017, when he was the joint secretary for only three years and eight months.

Similarly, Sewantak Pokharel was promoted to the post of joint secretary in February 2018. He became the chairman on July 1, 2017. At that time, he was the joint secretary for only three years and four months.

The government has also recognized the experience of under-secretary level in both the appointments as the highest managerial experience in the respective fields.

According to Section 8910 of the Insurance Act, a person should be qualified to be appointed as the chairman.

These two decisions, sent by the Cabinet after the decision, have been considered to have high managerial experience on the basis of working as under-secretary even after five years of promotion to the post of joint secretary.

Only a person qualified under Section 8(1) of the Insurance Act can be appointed as the chairman. Although there is a provision in the Act that the members of the Board of Directors to be appointed by the Ministry of Finance and the Ministry of Law do not have the qualification of 8 (1), there is no exemption in the qualification in the case of the Chairman.

According to the policy formulated by the government, the appointment of the chairman of the Insurance Authority made by the joint secretary until further arrangements has shown that the act does not intend to work for five years at the higher managerial level of the insurance sector to get the responsibility of the chairman of the Nepal Insurance Authority.

The government has formed a judicial inquiry committee under the coordination of a former judge, suspending Sharad Ojha, who was appointed chairman of the Insurance Authority. Kapil Oli and Jeevan Sitaula are members of the inquiry committee formed under the coordination of former High Court judge Krishna Giri.

The government has suspended Ojha without giving him an opportunity to explain. He has been working as a senior manager in companies registered under the Companies Act to become the chairman of the Insurance Authority and has submitted the tax on income to the tax office accordingly.

Although the Insurance Act does not work in the insurance sector as a high manager to become the chairman of the AUTHORITY, it has been seen that the person working in the post of senior manager in the organization formed under the Companies Act has been kept on the basis of getting the post of senior manager.

Surya Silwal, who was appointed as chairman before Ojha, also did not work in the insurance sector despite spending 30 years in the civil service. Similarly, Chiranjeevi Chapagain worked in the Rastra Bank but did not work in the insurance sector. The Supreme Court also seems to have considered a person working in the top management position qualified in terms of experience.