PAC summons ex-NTB chair, board members
OCT 16 - The Parliamentary Public Accounts Committee (PAC) on Wednesday summoned former chairman and board members of Nepal Tourism Board (NTB) to explain why its 192nd board meeting approved Rs 74 million for its administrative division without following due procedures. The financial plan was passed without a quorum.
The NTB board meeting on July 18 chaired by former tourism secretary Sushil Ghimire had approved the budget. The board consists of 11 members, five representing the government, five representing the private sector and the chairman. Tourism secretary chairs the NTB board.
Though two private sector representatives—Dhurba Narayan Shrestha and Rewat Bahadur Thapa—were barred from sitting on the NTB board by the Patan Appellate Court, Shrestha had signed the minutes of the meeting to fulfil the quorum to release payment. The decisions were taken a day before Ghimire retired from the post.
“It’s a serious crime to release the budget without fulfilling quorum and all the board members are liable for this misconduct,” said lawmaker Ram Hari Khatiwada. “All suspected activities at the NTB indicate NTB’s officiating chief executive officer Subash Nirola alone was not involved in the financial misconduct at the tourism board.”
“The actual budget required was Rs 12.1 million, but the board approved an exorbitant budget without any reason,” said Achyut Guragain, a private sector representative of the probe committee formed to investigate irregularities at NTB, at Wednesday’s meeting.
NTB sources said the excess budget was passed to pay security personnel hired by Nirola and to publish advertisements in the media defending him against his alleged irregularities. Nirola had hired 26 personal security guards saying he needed them as the government hadn’t listened to his pleas for security.
The NTB board had amended its financial bylaws to allow the board to award contracts without competitive bidding even though the Public Procurement Act (PPA) says tenders should be called before doing so.
Under the amendments to the Financial Bylaws that give sweeping powers to the NTB boss to dispense cash, the CEO can spend up to Rs 10 million at a time for tourism promotion activities inside the country.
Similarly, the chief can spend $400,000 at a time outside the country without following any due process of the PPA. The CEO has also been given the power to spend up to $400,000 at a time through honorary representatives and firms.
Lawmaker Bharat Sah said NTB had disregarded the PPA during every operation and business deal which shows the seriousness of the issue. “This is a clear indication that NTB is not governed by the country’s procurement law but the other way around.”
However, Nirola refuted the charges labelled by a government probe panel of committing corruption and illegally amending NTB bylaws.
He claimed his actions had been guided by NTB’s needs and global procurement practices. “The bylaws were amended in consultation with legal experts and Tourism Ministry officials,” he told the PAC.
However, Nirola’s defence doesn’t hold substance as Purna Chandra Bhattarai, who headed the probe committee, said the bylaws was amended unlawfully.
Earlier in a separate meeting at the PAC on Wednesday, Bhattarai, who is now joint secretary at the Ministry of Local Development, said the taskforce he headed in July 2013 had submitted a draft of new the financial bylaws for NTB. The Tourism Ministry had formed the taskforce to reform NTB. “However, NTB modified almost all the contents in the proposed bylaws,” he said.
The amended Financial Bylaws were kept hidden for more than six months, but was brought to light by travel trade entrepreneurs that sparked a 52-day long protest after the government did not take the issue seriously. “Numerous financial irregularities were committed by NTB in an organised manner,” Bhattarai said.
Plea for farewell present rejected
Graft accused officiating CEO of the Nepal Tourism Board Subash Nirola has sought a golden handshake. He told the Public Accounts Committee on Wednesday he had asked for a graceful exit from the board and had requested the tourism secretary for a generous severance payment. However, he said the secretary turned him down. “My tenure at NTB is valid for another two and a half years, and I don’t want to be mired in controversy,” Nirola told the lawmakers.
Source: The Kathmandu Post
