Kathmandu. Considering good governance as the cornerstone of a prosperous Nepal, the current government has initiated important efforts for the rule of law, administrative and policy reforms, increasing the morale of security personnel and ending the ‘middleman’ rule.
The current government, formed under the leadership of the senior leader of the National Independent Party, Walendra Shah, with a two-thirds majority, has been promoting zero tolerance against corruption, economic revival and social progress as a campaign in the last 100 days. After the formation of the government, 100 agendas related to government reforms have been implemented and the nation and citizens have already started getting benefits from it.
By conducting the ‘Zero File Week’ campaign from March 30 to Baisakh 7, the government completed the files that had not been cleared for years from all three levels of government agencies in one ‘blow’. Now, files related to various “scandals” that have been “fixed” under political guise for a long time are being opened. Home Minister Sudhan Gurung announced for the second time that he will investigate the ‘murder’ that took place at Narayanhiti Rajdarbar on May 19, 2058 during his reinstatement.
In the last three months, the Nepal Police has arrested high-ranking people involved in major scams including embezzlement of assets of Smart Telecom under the control of the government, unauthorized seizure of the government’s public procurement system and manipulation of contract details, and fake rescue of tourists. The process of investigation and action against the leader of Rashtriya Prajatantra Party and construction businessman Vikram Pandey, businessman Sulabh Aggarwal, Deepak Bhatt and other individuals involved in various crimes is ongoing.
Similarly, former Finance Minister and Vice President of Nepal Communist Party (UML) Bishnu Paudel is also in police custody for investigation related to money laundering.
Commencement of prespecified property investigation
The investigation of the assets of former special officials, which was limited only as an election ‘agenda’, has been carried forward by the current government with high priority. After the restoration of democracy, the demand to investigate the assets of the prime minister, ministers and high-ranking employees of the government has been raised from all sides, and the government has taken it forward as the main agenda of politics and good governance.
Even in the 2079 elections, the major political parties promised to investigate the assets of former special officials and to nationalize the assets whose sources have not been revealed, but the matter was not a priority of the government formed after the elections.
The Rashtriya Swatantra Party had stated in its election pledge that the assets of the former special officials to joint secretaries who held public positions from 2048 to 2083 would be investigated. With the aim of fulfilling the promise made to the people during the election, the government has formed a property investigation commission under the chairmanship of former Supreme Court judge Rajendra Kumar Bhandari and is starting work on May 2.
The commission is collecting the property details and complaints of officials who are within the scope of submitting property details. Ganesh KC, the spokesperson of the commission, informed that more than 11 thousand people have submitted the property details form so far. More than 1,000 complaints have been filed in the commission against former officials who held public positions.
The deadline for submitting property details has been extended till the end of June. The Commission has requested all those concerned to assist in the investigation process by filing a complaint against a person who held a public office between 2048 and 2083.
The commission will divide the period of 35 years since the restoration of democracy in the country into two phases from 2062/63 to 2082/83 and 2048/49 to 2062/63 and investigate files and complaints. The five-member commission established by the current government with the mandate to investigate the assets of people who held public office, retired or retired after 2048 and submitted a report is currently busy collecting property details and complaints.
The commission expects to receive the property details of 40,000 to 50,000 people within the stipulated period. With this decision of the government, all the public bodies who have received similar service facilities, including gazetted special and first class incumbents and ex-employees who have held public positions in the last 35 years, will have to submit their details.
The investigation started with the Home Minister
Meanwhile, Home Minister Gurung resigned from the post of Minister on May 9th last with the aim of assisting the investigation process after questions were raised from the public about his shares and property. In order to investigate this matter, the cabinet meeting on 28th of Baisakh formed a study and investigation committee under the chairmanship of former high court judge Achyuta Prasad Bhandari, with Controller General Shobhakant Paudel and associate attorney Achyutamani Neupane as members.
The committee investigated the public comments regarding Gurung’s property and shares and handed over a report to the government stating that there was no personal weakness in that regard. Based on the same report, Prime Minister Shah reappointed Gurung as Home Minister on May 26. Minister Gurung is playing a leading role in law enforcement, quick response to citizen complaints and implementation of the sentiments of Genji youth.
Genji Movement – Commencement of implementation of Commission of Inquiry report
The government has proceeded with the implementation of the report submitted by the commission formed to investigate the incidents that took place during the demonstration on 23rd and 24th August 2082. At the same time, the then Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli and the then Home Minister Ramesh Akhtar were arrested and the investigation started.
The police arrested the former Prime Minister Oli and the former Minister of Home Affairs on March 14 to investigate the matter. After being questioned about the incident, they were released from police custody by order of the Supreme Court. However, the investigation against them is ongoing.
The Commission recommended that Oli and the author be investigated for criminal offenses because of their negligent and devious activities and behavior. The victim’s family has expressed their belief that justice will be achieved with the implementation of the recommendation.
The government has formed a study committee under the coordination of High Court judge Premraj Karki, ex-police additional inspector general Tekprasad Rai and former police additional inspector general Subodh Kumar Adhikari as members to study and recommend the security mechanism in relation to the same incident. The committee is studying in this regard.
It seems that the 100 days of the government is focused on maintaining good governance, ending corruption, investigating various scandals involving high-ranking officials whose investigations were previously affected due to political pressure, simplifying and facilitating service delivery, addressing the sentiments of the Genji movement and meeting the expectations of the common people who are in favor of change.