Kathmandu. The Insurance Authority, which regulates insurance companies, has got five chairpersons in a period of about 10 months.

In the last 10 months, the authority has got five chairpersons. One of them is from outside the ministry while the rest are joint secretaries. The government appointed Madan Dahal, Sewantak Porkhel and Janak Raj Sharma until further arrangements.

The Commission for the Investigation of Abuse of Authority (CIAA) had filed a corruption case at the Special Court against the then chairman of NRA, Surya Prasad Silwal, on December 10, 2081 for allegedly manipulating the citizenship and passport. He was suspended after a case was filed while in office.

On December 11, 2081, the Ministry gave the responsibility of working to Joint Secretary Madan Dahal until further arrangement was made. Dahal was the chairman of the NRA until Sharad Ojha became the chairman. When the cabinet appointed Ojha as the chairman on February 25, 2081, Dahal returned to the ministry.

The government appointed Ojha to the post through open competition. However, Ojha could not work for more than 4.5 months at the NRA. The same government that appointed Ojha suspended him on various pretexts. A meeting of the Council of Ministers held on July 13, 2082 formed a committee to investigate against Ojha. The committee was formed under the coordination of former High Court Justice Krishna Giri to investigate into the case.

Kapil Oli and Jeevan Sitaula were the members of the committee. On the recommendation of the same committee, the government relieved Ojha of his post on August 18. Immediately after the government suspended Ojha on July 14, NRA joint-secretary Sewantak Pokhrel was appointed as the chairman. After about 2 and a half months, the chairman has changed again. The government formed by the Genji movement has now sent Janak Raj Sharma to the NRA. He was sworn in and sworn in on Friday.

However, the employees of the NRA have become very upset after the government started changing the chairman arbitrarily. Now the work of the employees of the NRA is like welcoming the chairman. After the change of five chairmen in a period of 10 months, the employees are now upset. Employees have said that such actions of the government have demoralized them.

Nepal Insurance Authority Employees Union and Nepal Insurance Authority (NEA) Employees Union have drawn the attention of the Ministry of Finance in the third week of September, stating that their morale has started deteriorating.

“The instability of the leadership seen in the regulatory body at a time when the morale of the entire insurance sector and employees has deteriorated in the context of the change of chairman 4÷5 times in a period of one year. And the trade unions would like to draw your attention,” the letter reads.

Regulating the overall insurance market, protecting the rights and interests of the insured, and considering the insurance sector as a part of the financial system, the authority is considered to be a part of the financial system. They complain that the employees have not been able to work and the work that should have been done by the Insurance Authority has not been done due to the change of the chairman by the government from time to time. The NEA employees have been complaining that they have not been able to work except for the daily office operation. Experts argue that the government’s change of chairman within 2-3 months has raised questions about the credibility of the insurance sector.