NT fails to improve service quality
KATHMANDU:
Lawmakers today vented their frustration on Nepal Telecom (NT) saying that the company has constantly failed to maintain Quality of Service and transparency.
In a meeting of Public Accounts Committee (PAC) under Legislature Parliament, the lawmakers charged NT management of not initiating any measures for organisational reform.
“The Nepal Telecom (NT) should focus on improve Quality of Service,” the committee member Deep Kumar Upadhyaya said, adding that NT is loosing its credibility due to low service quality. Nepal Telecom is running from the service charges paid by its consumers, he said, adding, but the consumers have been diverted because of its poor performance.
However, the telecom service provider denied the charge. “Public Procurement Act, along with some government entities including Commission for Investigation of Abuse of Authority and National Vigilance Centre’s decisions have often delayed the telecom’s decision,” NT managing director Vishwanath Goel said, adding that the company has failed to bring state-of-art technology due to hurdles from those entities.
“Nepal Telecom should abide by the Public Procurement Act while purchasing and installing new technology,” Goel said, adding that the telecom service provider cannot take prompt decision due to Public Procurement Act and fear of action from anti-graft body and National Vigilance Centre.
However, the lawmakers were not convinced by his logic. “Nepal Telecom often points its fingers to the others’ for its weaknesses but its management and staffers are very much into irregularities for the poor performance of the service provider,” the committee members said, adding that the management, broad and staffers are bleeding the company blue.
“It has failed to execute even a single directive issued by the committee earlier,” PAC president Ram Krishna Yadav informed. The PAC on February 2 had directed Nepal Telecom to improve its service quality and make procurement processes transparent.
After receiving the report from the sub-committee formed under the coordination of Constituent Assembly member Deep Kumar Upadhyaya, the committee had issued directives to telecom service provider urging it to carry out its activities in transparent manner. “NT has not adopted transparency while calling and awarding tenders for the purchase of equipments and building physical infrastructures,” the report had stated.
In its direction, the committee had clearly directed NT to formulate short-term, mid-term and long-term plans with extensive preparation before calling a tender and executing any wok related to construction and services. Since Nepal Telecom has not executed the earlier directives of Public Accounts Committee, the committee again directed the NT to implement its earlier directives immediately, Upadhyaya said.
MD, lawmaker quarrel
Nepal Telecom MD Goel and lawmakers had a quarrel for some time on Thursday’s meeting. Nepal Telecom is the a centre of commission and irregularities, Public Accounts Committee (PAC) member Dhan Raj Gurung blamed, saying there are even bigger scam than that of ‘Sudan-scam’. But Goel defended the charge interrupting Gurung. After his interruption, lawmakers criticised Goel for defaming the PAC. “It is the proof that MD himself is involved in irregularities,” Gurung said.
Source: THT
Lawmakers today vented their frustration on Nepal Telecom (NT) saying that the company has constantly failed to maintain Quality of Service and transparency.
In a meeting of Public Accounts Committee (PAC) under Legislature Parliament, the lawmakers charged NT management of not initiating any measures for organisational reform.
“The Nepal Telecom (NT) should focus on improve Quality of Service,” the committee member Deep Kumar Upadhyaya said, adding that NT is loosing its credibility due to low service quality. Nepal Telecom is running from the service charges paid by its consumers, he said, adding, but the consumers have been diverted because of its poor performance.
However, the telecom service provider denied the charge. “Public Procurement Act, along with some government entities including Commission for Investigation of Abuse of Authority and National Vigilance Centre’s decisions have often delayed the telecom’s decision,” NT managing director Vishwanath Goel said, adding that the company has failed to bring state-of-art technology due to hurdles from those entities.
“Nepal Telecom should abide by the Public Procurement Act while purchasing and installing new technology,” Goel said, adding that the telecom service provider cannot take prompt decision due to Public Procurement Act and fear of action from anti-graft body and National Vigilance Centre.
However, the lawmakers were not convinced by his logic. “Nepal Telecom often points its fingers to the others’ for its weaknesses but its management and staffers are very much into irregularities for the poor performance of the service provider,” the committee members said, adding that the management, broad and staffers are bleeding the company blue.
“It has failed to execute even a single directive issued by the committee earlier,” PAC president Ram Krishna Yadav informed. The PAC on February 2 had directed Nepal Telecom to improve its service quality and make procurement processes transparent.
After receiving the report from the sub-committee formed under the coordination of Constituent Assembly member Deep Kumar Upadhyaya, the committee had issued directives to telecom service provider urging it to carry out its activities in transparent manner. “NT has not adopted transparency while calling and awarding tenders for the purchase of equipments and building physical infrastructures,” the report had stated.
In its direction, the committee had clearly directed NT to formulate short-term, mid-term and long-term plans with extensive preparation before calling a tender and executing any wok related to construction and services. Since Nepal Telecom has not executed the earlier directives of Public Accounts Committee, the committee again directed the NT to implement its earlier directives immediately, Upadhyaya said.
MD, lawmaker quarrel
Nepal Telecom MD Goel and lawmakers had a quarrel for some time on Thursday’s meeting. Nepal Telecom is the a centre of commission and irregularities, Public Accounts Committee (PAC) member Dhan Raj Gurung blamed, saying there are even bigger scam than that of ‘Sudan-scam’. But Goel defended the charge interrupting Gurung. After his interruption, lawmakers criticised Goel for defaming the PAC. “It is the proof that MD himself is involved in irregularities,” Gurung said.
Source: THT
