Ministry all set to name chief at NTB
KATHMANDU, MAY 31
After three and half years, the Tourism Ministry is all set to appoint a chief at Nepal Tourism Board (NTB).
The ministry has amended NTB’s CEO selection procedure to ease the appointment process. A sub-committee led by Sadhu Ram Sapkota, joint-secretary at the ministry, had been entrusted with the task of amending the procedure.
As per the amended procedure, the ministry can now send its joint-secretary to fill the three-member CEO selection sub-committee quorum. Under the NTB Act and Regulation, a three-member sub-committee should be formed from among five members representing the private sector on the board to appoint the CEO.
However, due to a dispute among private sector representatives, the NTB has suffered several setbacks in its efforts to appoint a new boss.
“As the NTB board has only two members from the private sector now, the joint-secretary will represent as the third member under the amended procedure,” said Sapkota.
The ministry has not been able to appoint other three members from the private sector due to various legal hurdles.
The 11-member board consists of five representatives each from the government and the private sector, besides the CEO. Tourism Secretary chairs the board.
The selection sub-committee will shortlist three candidates after the interview, and finally select one from among them for the top post.
“The new procedure will make the appointment process more fair and transparent,” Sapkota said, adding the sub-committee would be formed soon. The NTB, which has been charged with promoting Nepal’s tourism in the national and international arenas, has been stumbling along without its head since the then CEO Prachanda Man Shrestha’s tenure expired on Oct 31, 2011.
In the first week of November 2011, the three-member sub-committee had shortlisted 12 candidates. However, the process stalled after the terms of three—Ganesh Simkhada, Nimi Sherpa and Agni Kadel—of the five board members expired on Nov 30, 2011.
Since then, the process started to disrupt with numbers of complaints filed in the Supreme Court against the appointment process.
The process became more complicated after the Commission for the Investigation of Abuse of Authority in April filed a charge sheet in the Special Court against 23 NTB employees, including sitting board members, on the charge of their involvement in financial irregularities.
Although the selection process has been eased, the government is not yet sure whether to resume the old process or invite fresh application. Sapkota said since the appointment process is going to start after a long interval, it would be wise to take ahead both the processes simultaneously.
According to the NTB Act, a prospective CEO should have 10 years’ experience in the tourism sector and at least a Master’s degree.
Due to various political manoeuvring and rampant irregularities, the NTB, formed under an exemplary public-private-partnership model, has not been functioning as per its aims.
Source: The Kathmandu Post
