Arjun Ghimire has been appointed as the Chairman of the Nepal Telecommunications Authority. Ghimire received the appointment letter from Information and Communications Minister Bikram Timilsina on Monday and took the oath of office and secrecy. The Ministry of Communications has stated that he was appointed as per the decision of the Council of Ministers on Ashad 24. 

Some have questioned his appointment, saying that he was appointed with an earlier date. They say that it is not technically and practically possible since the date of the interview for the chairman and the date of the decision of the Council of Ministers appear to be the same day. When asked about this, a ministry source said, ‘The interview was completed ahead of time due to the absence of one competitor and the name was sent to the Council of Ministers from the recommendation committee to make a decision on the same day.’

The newly appointed Chairman Ghimire was previously working as a director in the Telecommunications Authority. The government had issued the ‘Special Provisions Ordinance on the Removal of Public Office Holders, 2083’ on Baisakh 18. As soon as the ordinance was published in the gazette, the then Chairman of the Authority, Bhupendra Bhandari, and four other board members of the Authority were relieved of their posts at once. Since then, Ghimire has been the acting Chairman. He was the Director of the Consumer Protection Division under the Administration and Licensing Directorate of the Authority. He has worked in the Authority for more than a decade and a half in various positions. 

Among those who applied for the post of Chairman, 9 people, including Ghimire, were shortlisted. Former employees of Nepal Telecom Anantaman Singh, Amlendu Narayan Singh, Sanaullah Khan, Sushil Prasad Sah, retired DIG Rajiv Subba and other experts Anil Kumar Jha, Janardan Bhatta and Madhusudan Dahal were on the shortlist. 

Section 5 (1) of the Telecommunications Act, 2053 BS, stipulates that to be the Chairman of the Authority, one must have the prescribed qualifications and experience in the technical, administrative, market management, accounting and auditing or legal fields related to telecommunications services. According to Rule 3 of the Telecommunications Regulations, 2054, only a Nepali citizen who has at least a bachelor's degree or equivalent in the relevant field and has at least 10 years of work experience can be the chairman. In addition, there is a condition that the person should not have completed 30 years of age and not have exceeded 65 years of age and should not have obtained a permanent residence permit from any foreign country. 

After the government issued the 'Directive on the Appointment and Nomination of Officials and Members of Public Bodies Affiliated to the Ministry of Information and Communications, 2083' on Jestha 5, some confusion and suspicion arose after specifying additional criteria regarding the experience of the chairman. According to point 6 of the directive, in the case of employees working in government services or public corporations, they should have worked at least in the gazetted first class (joint secretary), eleventh grade or higher. In the case of other organizations or companies, it is said that they should have gained 10 years of experience in the high management level as per the regulations.

While presenting the appointment letter, Minister of Communications Timilsina said that the government has high expectations from the chairman who has been selected through a competitive process and taken on the responsibility. Stating that the recommendation committee selected Ghimire based on the belief that he can discharge his responsibilities in a fair, impartial and result-oriented manner, he stressed that the regulatory body should play its role seriously. He has directed to pay special attention to solving problems in the telecommunications sector and to work impartially as per legal responsibilities. 

Since he rose to leadership from the internal structure of the authority, how he will take forward contemporary challenges such as the commercial launch of 5G and regulation of internet services in Nepal is being watched with interest in the sector. Given Ghimire's long experience in the economic and consumer policy of the telecommunications sector, it is expected that unhealthy commercial competition among service providers and tariff-related irregularities will be strictly regulated under his leadership. However, as Nepal's telecommunications sector has reached a complex juncture, some are also skeptical about whether Ghimire can take the necessary bold decisions. Experts have been pointing out that this sector, which used to pay the highest tax to the state in the past and earn huge profits, has now reached a collapse phase.