Three finalists in race for top post at EPF
KATHMANDU, AUG 27 -
The Chief Executive Appointment Recommendation Committee recommended three names for the post of administrator of the Employees Provident Fund (EPF) on Saturday.
The candidates who have been recommended are Krishna Prasad Acharya, Radha Krishna Pote and Sushil Kumar Aryal. Pote is acting chief officer and Acharya is deputy chief officer of the EPF. Meanwhile, Aryal is a manager at the Citizen Investment Trust. The CEO’s post at the EPF has been vacant for about six months.
Chairman of the Public Enterprise Board (PEB) Bimal Wagle said their names had been forwarded to the Finance Ministry on Saturday after going through their merits and other requirements. “We have finally recommended these three names after interviewing them and observing their presentations,” added Wagle. The committee had shortlisted five candidates. Among them were Hasana Sharma, officiating administrator of the EPF, and Kailash Bhakta Karanjit.
The PEB had initiated the process of appointing a new CEO for the EPF by issuing a vacancy notice. Six candidates submitted their applications but the process came to a halt after the Election Commission issued the election code of conduct banning the appointment of chief executives in public enterprises.
Finance secretary Krishna Hari Baskota confirmed that the ministry had received the recommendations and said that the ministry would forward them to the Cabinet. “The finance minister is out of town. Once he returns, the names will be forwarded to the Cabinet and it will appoint the CEO of the EPF,” he said.
The PEB initiated the selection process after the EC lifted the ban on appointments. Wagle said the selection process in other public enterprises would resume gradually. More than half a dozen public enterprises are operating without chief executives.
The government went for appointing CEOs through free competition by forming the PEB following complaints about political appointment of chief executives that harmed state-owned corporations.
Source: The Kathmandu Post
