The National Cooperative Regulation Authority, which is supposed to be established for the regulation of cooperatives that deal mainly with savings and loans, has officially started its work.
According to the provisions of the Ordinance, the Government of Nepal has given the responsibility of the Chairman to Arjun Prasad Pokharel, Secretary of the Ministry of Land Management, Cooperatives and Poverty Alleviation, until the chairman is appointed.
Along with this, Secretary Pokharel has assumed new responsibilities with the official opening of the authority office on Monday. According to the provisions of the ordinance, there is a provision that the executive director of Nepal Rastra Bank and the co-secretary of the Ministry of Cooperatives should be ex-officio directors in the board of directors of the authority. According to the same arrangement, Chairman Pokharel, Rashtra Bank Executive Director Guru Prasad Paudel and Joint Secretary Madan Koirala took the oath of office and secrecy on Monday. In the
program, President Pokharel said that he will fulfill his new responsibility. "The authority has been established when there has been talk about the second level regulator for two decades. The authority is a fully autonomous regulatory body,' he said, 'It will be as strong and completely powerful as the National Bank.' With the establishment of the office, if the authority will start working, the government will start the process of appointing the chairman, expert members and chartered accountants.
In the ordinance issued by the government on December 10, there is a provision for the formation of a powerful authority for the regulation of savings and credit cooperatives. "A person who has obtained at least a master's degree in economics, commerce, management, accounting, law or cooperatives and who has worked in gazetted first class or equivalent or who has at least 15 years of work experience in an international or national level bank or financial institution or a cooperative institution" will appoint a chairman.
There is a provision in the ordinance to appoint a person with the same educational qualification and 10 years of work experience as an expert member. The Executive Director of Nepal Rastra Bank, Joint Secretary in charge of cooperative sector of the Ministry of Cooperatives and one Chartered Accountant with at least 10 years of work experience are the members of the Authority.
For the appointment of chairman, experts and chartered accountant members, there is a provision to form a recommendation committee chaired by the chairman of the Public Service Commission or a member of the commission appointed by him. The Ordinance stipulates that the members of the recommendation committee shall be ex-governors and persons with at least 15 years of work experience in economic and financial, legal or cooperative fields. The recommended persons will be appointed by the Council of Ministers. The meeting of the Authority shall be held at least once in a month.
The main responsibility of the Authority will be to create and implement national standards for the registration, regulation, supervision, monitoring and reporting system of cooperatives that deal mainly with savings and loans. "Issuing regulatory standards (prudential standards) regarding the operation of cooperatives that deal mainly with savings and loans," the work and duties of the authority states, "doing necessary work to ensure the safety of savers' savings, regularly monitoring, inspecting, and receiving complaints of cooperatives." , to investigate the received complaints and to give instructions to the related organizations. The authority has also been given the authority to implement the management information reporting system of the
cooperative at the union, state and local levels. According to the prevailing law, the authority has been given the authority to act as the district court in processing and settling the complaints, including misappropriation of savings, received before the authority. 'The right to bring a person to the authority to make a statement or to obtain information, to examine witnesses, to order the submission of any written document in the government, state government or local level or any public institution, to conduct on-site inspection and to order the submission of evidence' to the authority. Through
ordinance, the authority will have the right to impose a fine of five lakh to fifteen lakh rupees on cooperatives who do not comply with any matter according to the amended Act. The authority will also have the right to send a written notice to the concerned body to cancel the registration of such a cooperative organization.
'If the director or officer or manager or employee of a cooperative organization violates this Act or the rules made under the Act, (the authority) may impose a fine of one lakh rupees to five lakh rupees and may send a written notice to such officer or employee for action according to the prevailing law,' the ordinance said. .
