PEDB moves to appoint chief executive officers in public enterprises
KATHMANDU, MAR 27 -
The Public Enterprises Directorate Board (PEDB) has started work to fill the vacant post of chief executive in various public enterprises (PEs) by collecting details of the status of appointments. Although the board has been mandated to make new appointments even in institutions where there are political appointees, it has planned to start by filling the vacant posts first.
“We are preparing to issue vacancy notices early next week,” said Bimal Prasad Wagle, chairman of the board. According to the Finance Ministry, there is no chief executive in about half a dozen PEs including the Nepal Electricity Authority (NEA), Employees Provident Fund, Rastriya Beema Sansthan, Nepal Oil Corporation, Hydroelectricity Investment and Development Company, Nepal Timber Corporation and Gorakhkali Rubber Factory.
The post of managing director has lain vacant at the NEA after its former boss Dipendra Nath Sharma resigned in November 2011. Subsequently, the appointment process for a new one was halted by the Commission for Investigation of Abuse of Authority (CIAA) after it received complaints of irregularities.
Likewise, the post of administrator has been vacant at the Employees Provident Fund for the last two months after its administrator Ramesh Kumar Bhattarai retired. Rastriya Beema Sansthan has been without an administrator for two months, and Nepal Oil Corporation is being run by an officiating managing director since the last few months.
Hydroelectricity Investment and Development Company has asked the board to appointment a chief executive officer for it after its two hiring attempts failed to attract enough candidates. Similarly, the post of executive chief has been vacant at Nepal Timber Corporation and Gorakhkali for the past few months.
“We are now studying the documents of the PEs concerned to appoint chief executives there,” said Wagle. Earlier, the board had sought the status of appointments to the post of chief executive in PEs and their rules and regulations relating to the appointment process.
The PE Directorate Board Formation Order has allowed the PE board to make the necessary recommendations to the selection committee for the appointment of CEOs, and the committee has to adopt the procedures mentioned in the order. Applicants for the post are required to have a Master’s degree from a recognized university in management, administration, trade, production, engineering or law and 10 years’ experience as an officer. Civil servants holding a first class position (joint secretary level) can also compete for the post.
Wagle said that the board would first give priority to the existing provisions and regulations of the PEs concerned for the appointment of CEOs as they do have specific criteria while the order has made provisions about the general criteria for eligible candidates.
The board has planned to make new appointments in other PEs where the CEO has been appointed on the basis of political affinity after completing the task of filling the vacant posts.
The government has not cancelled its new political appointments in a number of PEs where their old CEOs, who were also political appointees, have been reinstated by the courts.
After being reinstated by the courts, the chief executives appointed by the former government have been working at Nepal Food Corporation and Nepal Transit and Warehouse Company. The chairman of the Citizens Investment Trust was also reinstated by a court order. There are still two general mangers at National Trading.
Political appointment has been identified as one of the main reasons behind the bad performance of PEs, and the government has introduced the order to end the practice.
Source: Kantipur
